Same as the parameter of an equation construction

Abstract

Rett (2013) proposes that the difference between scalar equatives (Mary is as tall as Sue is) and similatives (Mary danced as Sue did) in terms of whether a parameter marker (i.e. the underlined as) is needed, can be attributed to their difference in whether lexicalized arguments are equated (degrees vs. manners). This paper shows that the same-sentence, which is a kind of equation construction, poses a challenge to Rett (2013) at first sight and to maintain her proposal, I argue that a null parameter marker must co-occur with the parameter same. Moreover, the existence of such a null parameter marker is not simply postulated to fit same into Rett (2013) but rather reveals something deep about this word, as it can straightforwardly account for its extraordinary scoping pattern (Dowty, 1985; Barker, 2007; Brasoveanu, 2011).