Abstract
In this paper, we propose that the verbal noun in Georgian is structurally ambiguous, with a more verbal instantiation (V-VN) and a more nominal instantiation (N-VN). We argue for the ambiguity hypothesis on the basis of syntactic diagnostics that target how the two instantiations of the verbal noun crucially diverge from one another. After demonstrating that the ambiguity hypothesis is indeed motivated by the data, we propose that the distinction between V-VNs and N-VNs in Georgian helps us to distinguish between more proposition-like and more event-like readings of verbal noun phrases. We then argue from a theoretical standpoint that the N-VN is a lexically derived nominal, whereas the V-VN in its behavior approaches what might be called an “infinitive” in modern Georgian.
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