Pseudo-Noun Incorporation and Argument Structure in Niuean

Pseudo Noun Incorporation in Niuean appears to be a problematic construction for lexicalist theory because it seems to exhibit both morphological and syntactic properties. After considering the basic data and generalizations, this paper examines two possible Lexical-Functional analyses. The first, the PRED ARG analysis, looks to map the incorporated noun phrase to revised view of a-structure. The second, the Lexical Sharing analysis (extending Wescoat 2002), looks to treat the construction as a combination of both a morphological construction and a syntactic one. After considering both analyses, the paper discusses what each contributes to the understanding of Pseudo Noun Incorporation in Niuean.