Prelexical Syntax and the Voice Hypothesis

Abstract

This paper relates to two articles by Arnim von Stechow, whom I have always admired for his semantic expertise but with whom at the same time I have always quarrelled in questions on the overall architecture of grammar. I first present an argument showing that morphology restricts adverbial scope differently from syntax. I will then provide a couple of arguments playing with the Voice hypothesis, which claims that only Voice makes an Agent (which, after all, is a wonderful metaphor). More specifically, I accept (with one important exception) Arnim von Stechow’s highly sophisticated semantic decompositions, but I take issue with his view that the internal structure of words is part of syntax. Moreover, from a cross-linguistic point of view I will come to the conclusion that morphological voice and the introduction of Agent are largely independent of one another.

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