Introduction

This chapter poses the question: ‘What is the head of modified nominal structures such as good students, these students or many students}’ The answer I shall give here is one inspired by classical mythology: namely, that like the ancient Roman god Janus, such structures are double-headed. The theoretical framework used here will be that of Government-Binding theory; the specific descriptive claim being made is that modified nominals incorporate multiple phrasal projections (with each modifier heading a separate projection), and that each phrasal ‘layer’ of the structure comprises both an immediate head (the modifier) and an ultimate head (the modified N): thus, for example, the immediate head of the expression ‘good students’ is the Adjective good, but its ultimate head is the Noun students. The analysis will proceed in a bottom-up fashion: accordingly, I start by looking at the innermost NP ‘core’ of nominals.

The internal structure of Noun Phrases

Consider the internal structure of nominals such as the following:

1. (1) a. ministry of defenceinstructionsto all employees

2. b. governmentcriticismof the press

3. c. Labour Partypolicyon defence

4. d. military policeinvolvementin torture of prisoners

5. e. university managementallegationsof a concerted student campaign of disruption

6. f. European Communitydemandsfor monetary union

7. g. studentassessmentof lectures

8. h. Department of the Environmentplansfor a new motorway

The overall string in such examples is traditionally considered to have the categorial status of a Noun Phrase: its head in each case is clearly the capitalized Noun, since the number properties of the capitalized Noun determine the number properties of the overall nominal, so that, for example, a nominal such as Ministry of Defence instructions…