DIAGNOSING SMALL NOMINALS: THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS FROM MOKSHA AND HILL MARI

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the morphosyntactic behavior of small nominals (SNs) — reduced nominal structures lacking certain morphosyntactic properties characteristic of full DPs — across languages. Based primarily on three detailed case studies (bare complements of Moksha postpositions, Moksha bare direct objects, and bare direct objects in Hill Mari non-finite clauses), I propose diagnostics that can reliably identify small nominals cross-linguistically and explore their implications for syntactic theory, particularly regarding the structure of the extended nominal projection. The dissertation begins with a carefully delimited theoretical model of nominal phrase structure, emphasizing the role of functional projections in determining nominal size. Each nominal projection between NP and DP is examined in turn, with explicit predictions about its morphosyntactic reflexes. The core of the dissertation is dedicated to Moksha. I first provide an overview of Moksha nominal morphology and map its features onto a hierarchical DP structure, demonstrating how Moksha nominal phrases align with theoretical expectations. In the first case study, I analyze the contrast between genitive-marked and bare complements of spatial postpositions in Moksha, arguing that the former are full DPs, while the latter are SNs displaying reduced morphosyntactic marking and agreement capabilities. In the second case study, I examine genitive-marked vs. bare direct objects in Moksha. Although bare DOs superficially resemble bare postpositional complements, I analyze them as full DPs with null case marking rather than SNs. In the third case study, I turn to related Hill Mari, analyzing the contrast between accusative-marked and bare DOs in non-finite clauses. I contend that bare DOs in Hill Mari are true SNs, with nominal size varying according to syntactic environment. Drawing on these case studies, I propose new cross-linguistic diagnostics for identifying SNs, addressing weaknesses in existing criteria. The refined diagnostics focus on definiteness, number, and possession-marking mismatches, improving the identification of SNs across languages.