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Mapping of prepositional arguments onto syntactic structure
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A preposition generally has two arguments. In case an Adposition Phrase (PP) is used in a copular structure, one argument is realised as the prepositional complement, put differently, it is realised inside the PP. The other argument is realised external to the PP, in the position of subject or object. An example is given below:

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Iskander is yn 'e tún
Iskander is in the garden
Iskander is in the garden
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The mapping of meaning onto syntactic structure is addressed by means of a concrete example. Consider the following sentence:

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Iskander is yn 'e tún
Iskander is in the garden
Iskander is in the garden

The preposition expresses a relation between two elements which participate in a containment relation in a dimension, so one element is the container and the other the containee. The container is expressed syntactically as the prepositional complement. The preposition forms a syntactic phrase, a prepositional phrase, with the argument that is semantically the container. It can for example be preposed with it, as below:

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Yn 'e tún is Iskander
in the garden is Iskander
In the garden is Iskander

The containee is realised as the subject of a predication, that is, it is realised external to the PP. A copula is used in the above example to provide a syntactic position for the containee. This external position is the position of subject in the example above. The following example features an external argument that is realised as a direct object:

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Jim ha in protte lju yn 'e tún
you have a lot people in the garden
You have a lot of people in the garden

The object position may be subject to restrictions which are pragmatic or aspectual in nature and which are not well understood. So, the following sentence is odd:

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?Se ha Iskander yn 'e tún
you have Iskander in the garden
You have Iskander in the garden

In case a PP is used in a Noun Phrase (NP), the external argument is realised as an NP. An example is given below:

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It grutte gat yn syn skoech
the big hole in his shoe
The big hole in his shoe

The preposition expresses a relation between the container, realised as prepositional complement, and the containee, realised as an NP. Similarly, the external argument of a PP may also be the sentence:

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Yn 1960 wurke er yn Opperdoes
in 1960 worked he in Opperdoes
In 1960, he worked in Opperdoes

In this sentence, the external argument of the PP is the sentence minus the PP.

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