In this dissertation, I investigate the problem of grammatical variation among
members of the same lexical category. Adopting the basic theoretical
assumptions of Autolexical Grammar (AG), I conceive of lexical categories as
groupings based on typical correspondences of information from different
domains of grammar. Each lexical category is characterized by a prototypical
association of syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, and morphological
mini-categories. When items deviate from these default correspondences,
defective grammatical behavior and/or grammatical behavior characteristic of
more than one lexical category often results. Thus, given a multi-modular
conception of category structure, a good deal of variation within lexical
categories can be explained in terms of ‘mismatch' among the mini-categories of
different modules.
Based on two case studies of English, I propose two major sources of
grammatical variation within lexical categories: lexical category mismatch and
phrasal category mismatch. The case of quantificational nouns illustrates the
former while the case of predicate nominals illustrates the latter. In
addition, I argue that some phenomena, such as stative verbs, generic nouns,
and quantificational adjectives do not warrant a cross-modular mismatch
analysis but still deviate from the default correspondences in ways that can be
specified within a theory of grammar. Such phenomena are accounted for by
allowing for variation within the major modules of grammar. In keeping with the
spirit of AG, this variation is accommodated by positing subcategories within
each module and default correspondences among the subcategories. Thus, subcategory
mismatches within a module may account for some kinds of non-prototypical
grammatical behavior. Finally, I identify four ways in which grammars cope with
mismatch and other incongruity: by mixing of categorial features, by
neutralization of categorial features, by override, and by constructional
compensation for missing information.