The universality of DP: A view from Russian*

Abstract

Abstract. This article argues in favor of the Universal‐DP Hypothesis, namely the view that the structure of noun phrases is universal, regardless of the presence/absence of overt articles in a language. In particular, it is claimed that the Universal‐DP Hypothesis makes better predictions for Russian (an articleless language) than its alternative, the Parameterized‐DP Hypothesis. First, it is shown that adjectives in Russian are as rigidly ordered as they are in English, suggesting their placement in ordered functional projections rather than by free adjunction. Second, it is shown that ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ adjectives behave differently in Russian, as well as in languages with overt articles, suggesting head‐ vs. phrasal status, rather than uniform phrasal adjunction. Third, the so‐called ‘pre‐modifiers’ (i.e., numerals, demonstratives and possessives) are argued to be hosted by functional projections, different from those hosting adjectives. Overall, it is argued that the absence of overt articles in Russian does not affect the syntax of other prenominal elements in any major way.

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