THE BRIDGING EFFECTS OF VERBS OF CREATION: AN EXPERIMENTAL LOOK

Abstract

This thesis investigates the well observed bridging effects that verbs of creation (VOC) have when heading a definite noun phrase (NP). While extraction is allowed from an indefinite NP, it is barred from a definite NP though the island effect can be alleviated when the definite NP is headed by a VOC. Erteschik-Shir (1981) and Davies and Dubinsky (2003) offer a discourse based and syntax-semantics based account for the bridging effects of the VOC respectively. Four acceptability judgement experiments were run to evaluate the claims in both theories and I ultimately suggest that both are insufficient in accounting for the results of the experiments. Instead, I propose a novel event-semantics account that builds off Truswell’s (2011) Single Event Condition to account for the observed data. A correlational experiment is conducted to support this proposal.