Factivity and information status as determinants of the distribution of nominalized clauses

Mikhail Knyazev
Institute for Linguistic Studies RAS / HSE University, St. Petersburg / Lomonosov Moscow State University

Abstract: Some popular theoretical approaches to complement clauses assume a strict correspondence between factivity/presuppositionality and a DP status (as reflected in syntactic nominalization). Such an approach has also been proposed for Russian. It assumes that nominalized clauses can be optionally headed by a silent D when the clause is in the accusative position but must be headed by an overt D (to) when the clause is in the oblique position. Exceptions to this generalizations are discussed. It is shown that they systematically correlate with the information status of the complement clause. It is proposed that the absence of DP for factive clauses is marked but not categorically prohibited and can be licensed in discourse contexts where it signals new information. And, vice versa, the presence of DP for nonfactive clauses is marked and is licensed by discourse-givenness.

Keywords: factive complements, discourse-givenness, nominalized clauses, markedness, Russian

For citation: Knyazev M. Factivity and information status as determinants of the distribution of nominalized clauses. Typology of Morphosyntactic Parameters. 2022. Vol. 5, iss. 1. Pp. 35–55. (In Rus.)