Analysing complement control and control predicates
Author : Barbara Stiebels
Publication date : 2007
Bibliographical references :
Stiebels, Barbara. 2007. Towards a typology of complement control. In Barbara Stiebels (ed.), ZAS Papers in Linguistics 47. Studies in complement control.
Goals
"This questionnaire aims at a cross-linguistic application of the notion of control and thus uses a semantic definition of complement control. It extends the notion of control to other patterns of referential dependency between arguments of a SOAA-taking predicate and of the embedded predicate." (Stiebels, 2007: 1)
Protocol summary
''This questionnaire focuses on control structures that are instantiated by predicates that take a state of affairs (SOA) argument. Noonan (1985) has called these predicates 'complement-taking predicates'. The questionnaire uses the notion of SOAA-taking predicates (SOAA = state of affairs argument). Prototypically, complement control is instantiated by certain classes of verbs; however, adjectives (be eager to) and nouns (e.g. nominalizations such as promise) may function as control predicates as well. 'Control' refers to the pattern of argument identification between an argument of the SOAA-taking predicate and an argument of the SOAA-head. In the literature the notion of 'equi deletion' or 'equi-NP deletion' has been used (following Rosenbaum 1967), which refers to structures in which an overt argument of the matrix predicate is identified with a covert argument of the embedded predicate. This questionnaire aims at a cross-linguistic application of the notion of control and thus uses a semantic definition of complement control. It extends the notion of control to other patterns of referential dependency between arguments of a SOAA-taking predicate and of the embedded predicate.'' (Stiebels, 2007: 1)
Development context
" The questionnaire is based on the Stiebels’ (2007) definition of obligatory control:
(1) Definition of obligatory control:
Obligatory control applies to structures in which a predicate P1 selects a SOA-argument and requires one of its (individual) arguments to be (improperly) included in the set of referents of an argument of the embedded predicate P2 heading the SOA-argument." (Stiebels, 2007: 1)
It can be found as an appendix in Barbara Stiebels (ed.). 2007. Studies in Complement Control. ZAS Papers in Linguistics 47, 1-80.