Competiton in Grammar.

This research project aims to investigate the concept of competition in grammar. To this end, it will examine the relationship between form and meaning in anaphors and pronouns. The meanings of these pronouns can be characterised in terms of familiar feature systems (person, number, gender, etc.). The association of features with forms is typically not oneto- one, but it involves syncretisms. Such syncretisms are not random, and the restrictions one finds reflect the underlying organisation of the features that the forms express. As a result, looking into the form of things can yield insights into the way elements of meaning (i.e. features) are structured. This project will study the form of anaphors and pronouns with an eye on determining (a) the nature of the features involved, and (b) the way these features are hierarchically structured.