Minimalist Syntax The Essential Readings

This book is a collection of key readings on Minimalist Syntax, the most recent, and arguably most important, theoretical development within the Principles and Parameters approach to syntactic theory. The volume includes an introduction and overview of the Minimalist Program written by two prominent researchers. Minimalist Syntax: The Essential Readings excerpts crucial pieces from the beginning of Minimalism to the most recent work and provides invaluable coverage of its most important topics.

Željko Boškovic is Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of The Syntax of Nonfinite Complementation: An Economy Approach (1997) and On the Nature of the Syntax–Phonology Interface: Cliticization and Related Phenomena (2001).

Howard Lasnik is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Maryland. His publications include Essays on Anaphora (1989), Minimalist Analysis (Blackwell, 1999), Minimalist Investigations in Linguistic Theory (2003), and A Course in Minimalist Syntax (with Juan Uriagereka, Blackwell, 2005).

Acknowledgments

ix

Introduction

1

1 The Basic Design of Language: Levels of Representation and Interaction with Interfaces

14

1.1 General Background

14

Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework

14

Noam Chomsky

Derivation by Phase

14

Noam Chomsky

Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework

15

Noam Chomsky

1.2 Levels of Representation

17

D-Structure, Theta-Criterion, and Movement into Theta-positions

17

Željko Boškovic

A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory

42

Noam Chomsky

1.3 Recent Developments: Multiple Spell-Out

60

A Derivational Approach to Syntactic Relations

60

Samuel D. Epstein, Erich M. Groat, Ruriko Kawashima, and Hisatsugu Kitahara

Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework

62

Noam Chomsky

Beyond Explanatory Adequacy

63

Noam Chomsky

2 Eliminating Government

66

2.1 Case

66

On the Subject of Infinitives

66

Howard Lasnik and Mamoru Saito

A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory

75

Noam Chomsky

2.1.1 Recent Developments

79

Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework

79

Noam Chomsky

2.2 PRO

86

2.2.1 Null Case

86

The Syntax of Nonfinite Complementation: An Economy Approach

86

Željko Boškovic

2.2.2 Eliminating PRO: Movement into 0-positions

111

Movement and Control

111

Norbert Hornstein

2.3 Locality

131

The Theory of Principles and Parameters

131

Noam Chomsky and Howard Lasnik

A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory

132

Noam Chomsky

Economy of Derivation and the Generalized Proper Binding Condition

133

Chris Collins

Elementary Operations and Optimal Derivations

144

Hisatsugu Kitahara

Categories and Transformations

154

Noam Chomsky

Local Economy

168

Chris Collins

Move or Attract?

173

Masao Ochi

A-movement and the EPP

186

Željko Boškovic

2.3.1 Recent Developments: Phases

212

Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework

212

Noam Chomsky

Derivation by Phase

216

Noam Chomsky

Successive Cyclicity, Anti-locality, and Adposition Stranding

219

Klaus Abels

3 Structure Building and Lexical Insertion

223

3.1 Bare Phrase Structure

223

Categories and Transformations

223

Noam Chomsky

Beyond Explanatory Adequacy

230

Noam Chomsky

3.2 Numeration and the Merge-over-Move Preference

231

Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework

231

Noam Chomsky

3.3 Cycle

233

Movement in Language: Interactions and Architectures

233

Norvin Richards

Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework

240

Noam Chomsky

3.4 Covert Lexical Insertion

243

LF Movement and the Minimalist Program

243

Željko Boškovic

3.5 Eliminating Agr

257

Categories and Transformations

257

Noam Chomsky

4 Verbal Morphology

263

4.1 Head Movement and/or Affix Hopping?

263

Verbal Morphology: Syntactic Strualtres Meets The Minimalist Program

263

Howard Lasnik

4.2 Head Movement as a PF Phenomenon

278

Derivation by Phase

278

Noam Chomsky

Head-ing toward PF

280

Cedric Boeckx and Sandra Stjepanoviä

5 LCA/C-command Related Issues

288

The Antisymmetry of Syntax

288

Richard S. Kayne

Categories and Transformations

309

Noam Chomsky

Un-principled Syntax: The Derivation of Syntactic Relations

315

Samuel D. Epstein

Multiple Spell-Out

329

Juan Uriagereka

Cyclicity and Extraction Domains

337

Jairo Nunes and Juan Uriagereka

6 Copy Theory of Movement

343

Linearization of Chains and Sideward Movement

343

Jairo Nunes

Morphosyntax: The Syntax of Verbal Inflection

365

Jonathan Bobaljik

7 Existential Constructions

368

A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory

368

Noam Chomsky

Categories and Transformations

369

Noam Chomsky

Last Resort

377

Howard Lasnik

7.1 Recent Developments

394

Derivation by Phase

394

Noam Chomsky

Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework

395

Noam Chomsky

Beyond Explanatory Adequacy

396

Noam Chomsky

8 Syntax/Semantics Interface

398

Economy and Scope

398

Danny Fox

Reconstruction, Binding Theory, and the Interpretation of Chains

414

Danny Fox

Minimalism and Quantifier Raising

423

Norbert Hornstein

Index

440

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Minimalist Syntax The Essential Readings

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials