A functional typology of copular "be": Towards an HPSG formalisation

Abstract

A functional typology of copular be in Russian allows us to systematically relate variants of predication with and without copula. The analysis sketched in this article does not need empty categories; neither does it have to stipulate categories, category changes or constituents that are not morphologically signalled. With regard to HPSG formalization, the presented approach independently motivates the use of features and mechanisms that are already available in this framework.