| This dissertation provides an analysis of Thai nouns and noun phrases using the Lexicase theoretical framework. Syntactic subclasses of nouns are posited on the basis of their argument structure, such as their ability to cooccur with verbal dependent sisters and/or prepositional phrases.;In chapter two, a fundamental distinction is made between nouns that are deictic (+dctc) and those that are non-diectic (;Constituents in the immediate domain of nouns can be divided into four subtypes according to their lexical heads: verb, noun, preposition, or determiner. A verbal attribute occurs immediately adjacent to the regent nouns. A nominal attribute, i.e., a relative clause, a possessive noun phrase, a relator noun phrase, a classifier construction, or a prepositional attribute (which is also considered (+N) because one of its exocentric co-heads is a noun phrase), occurs following the verbal attribute if any. A determiner which is not a dependent sister of a classifier or a possessive noun occurs last in the attributive string. The discussion of these types of attributes are presented in chapters three and four respectively.;Chapter five is a summary of the investigation. It also includes the discussion of substantial advantages of this study over other previous works on Thai nouns and noun phrases. It is presented first in the degree of the coverage, secondly in the level of explanatory adequacy, and thirdly in the universal applicability of the analysis. This section also points out several types of generalizations that can be characterized as being either specific to Thai, or as having language-universal significance.;The analysis of noun classes and noun phrase structures in this study demonstrates the ability of the Lexicase theoretical framework to formally and explicitly account for the syntactic facts of a language and to capture significant generalizations insightfully within a highly constrained system. |
