UNDERSTANDING MINIMALISM

1. UNDERSTANDING MINIMALISM ENG 235: MASOE Kleanthes K. Grohmann University of Cyprus kleanthi@ucy.ac.cy

2. BLOCK 2: ARCHITECTURE GB ingredients/modularity 4 (?) levels of representation justification/critique of same a minimalistified approach This block�s menu: [from HNG: chap. 2]

3. THE PYRAMID

4. ANOTHER TAKE ON THE T-MODEL DS SS PF LF

5. A FIRST APPROACH TO GB John persuaded Harry to kiss Mary.

6. A FIRST APPROACH TO GB John persuaded Harry to kiss Mary.  a. John seems to like Mary. b. It seems that John likes Mary.

7. A FIRST APPROACH TO GB John persuaded Harry to kiss Mary.  a. John seems to like Mary. b. It seems that John likes Mary. � Case is assigned (Case Theory) � some binding properties (Binding Theory) � null operators, parts of ECP, Subjacency [LF & PF mostly interpretive components]

8. SOME GB PRINCIPLES I Projection Principle All information present at one level of repre- sentation must be present at all higher levels. [= every movement leaves behind a trace t; primarily captures syntactic DS � SS � LF]

9. SOME GB PRINCIPLES II Extended Projection Principle All clauses must have subjects. [= subject position [Spec,IP] must be filled]

10. SOME GB PRINCIPLES III Empty Category Principle All traces must be properly governed. [= licensing requirement on t / ec]

11. GB TRANSFORMATIONAL COMPONENT Bind Freely assign an index to any DP. [e.g. DP-1i � DP-2i/j � DP-3i/j/k] Move a Move anything anywhere anytime. [= leaves behind t of form [X e ]]

12. THE GB MODULAR COMPONENT

13. THE GB GLUE Government (preliminary version) An element a governs an element � iff (i) a c-commands � and (ii) a is a governor. [c-command ~ �dominated by sister� and governor ~ lexical V, N, A, P / tensed I]

14. A SIMPLIFIED SUMMARY OF GB Projection PrincipleAll information present at one level of repre-sentation must be present at all higher levels. Extended Projection PrincipleAll clauses must have subjects. Empty Category PrincipleAll traces must be properly governed. BindFreely assign an index to any DP. Move aMove anything anywhere anytime. Government (preliminary version)An element a governs an element � iff(i) a c-commands � and(ii) a is a governor.

15. A SIMPLIFIED SUMMARY OF GB Projection PrincipleAll information present at one level of repre-sentation must be present at all higher levels. Extended Projection PrincipleAll clauses must have subjects. Empty Category PrincipleAll traces must be properly governed. BindFreely assign an index to any DP. Move aMove anything anywhere anytime. Government (preliminary version)An element a governs an element � iff(i) a c-commands � and(ii) a is a governor.

16. RETHINKING S-STRUCTURE (SS) SS is a purely theory-internal level: That is, it doesn�t follow from VCN�(virtual) conceptual necessity�. It� not relevant for or required by what we might call Bare Output Conditions (BOCs) or Interface Conditions (ICs) either. Additionally, economy considerations should favour a theory that has less levels of representation, if possible. � so: Why SS?

17. RETHINKING SS: CASE THEORY I Case Theory Case-assignment must take place after DS but before LF and PF � hence it must apply at SS. He was seen. He seems to be likely to win.

18. RETHINKING SS: CASE THEORY II Case and operators I met the man a. [OPi that Mary believed ti to be a genius]. b. * [OPi that it was believed ti to be a genius]. Visibility Condition: ?-role assignment / Case-marking

19. RETHINKING SS: CASE THEORY II Case-assignment/marking (environments) a. * Mary to leave would be terrible. b. * It was seen them. c. * John loves they.

20. RETHINKING SS: CASE THEORY II Case-assignment/marking (environments) a. * Mary to leave would be terrible. b. * It was seen them. c. * John loves they. a. [IP ? was + Inflnom [VP seen henom]]b. [IP henom was + Inflnom [VP seen t]]

21. RETHINKING SS: CASE THEORY II Case-assignment/marking (environments) a. * Mary to leave would be terrible. b. * It was seen them. c. * John loves they. a. [IP ? was + Inflnom [VP seen henom]]b. [IP henom was + Inflnom [VP seen t]] There is a cat on the mat.

22. RETHINKING SS: BINDING THEORY I Binding Theory (one example: Principle C) Principle C cannot apply at DS, but at least at SS. a. * Hei greeted Mary [after Johni walked in].b. [After Johni walked in], hei greeted Mary.

23. RETHINKING SS: BINDING THEORY I Binding Theory (one example: Principle C) Principle C cannot apply at DS, but at least at SS. a. * Hei greeted Mary [after Johni walked in].b. [After Johni walked in], hei greeted Mary. Who ate what? (approach to pair-list reading)

24. RETHINKING SS: BINDING THEORY II a.Which picture that Harryi bought did hei like?b. * Hei liked this picture that Harryi bought.c. * Which man said hei liked which picture that Harryi bought?

25. RETHINKING SS: BINDING THEORY II a.Which picture that Harryi bought did hei like?b. * Hei liked this picture that Harryi bought.c. * Which man said hei liked which picture that Harryi bought? a. Which portrait that Harry likes did he buy? b. Which portrait did he buy that Harry likes?

26. RETHINKING SS: BINDING THEORY II a. Which picture that Harryi bought did hei like?b. * Hei liked this picture that Harryi bought.c. * Which man said hei liked which picture that Harryi bought? a. Which portrait that Harry likes did he buy? b. Which portrait did he buy that Harry likes? Question: What moves? (phrase, head, feature�?) Example: wh-movement� (next slides)

27. RETHINKING SS: WH-MOVEMENT a. [Combien des livres]i a-t-il consult� ti?b. Combieni a-t-il consult� [ti des livres]?c. * Des livresi a-t-il consult� [combien ti]? �How many books did he consult?� a. [Was f�r B�cher]i hast du ti gelesen?b. Wasi hast du [ti f�r B�cher] gelesen?c. * F�r B�cheri hast du [was ti] gelesen?  �What books did you read?�

28. RETHINKING SS: OVERT VS COVERT I Overt vs covert movement LFs must be uniform, output structures need not. a. What did Bill buy? [English]b. Bill mai-le shenme? [Mandarin] 

29. RETHINKING SS: OVERT VS COVERT I Overt vs covert movement LFs must be uniform, output structures need not. a. What did Bill buy? [English]b. Bill mai-le shenme? [Mandarin] a. John often drinks wine. [English]b. Jean bois souvent de vin. [French]

30. RETHINKING SS: OVERT VS COVERT II The core of parametric variation Overt movement in one language, covert in another. a. Who gave what to whom? [English]b. * Koj dade kakvo na kogo? [Bulgarian] a. * Who what to whom gave? [English]b. Koj kakvo na kogo dade? [Bulgarian]

31. RETHINKING SS: BP WH-EXCURSION I Question formation in Brazilian Portuguese � overt vs null C � feature strength � point of Spell-Out The �function� of splitting the derivation can be built into Spell-Out, feature strength, and checking.

32. RETHINKING SS: BP WH-EXCURSION II A. Wh-movement in matrix clauses is optional with a phonetically null interrogative C0 � but obligatory with an overt interrogative C0  a. Como voc� consertou o carro?  how you fixed the car b. Voc� consertou o carro como? you fixed the car how  �How did you fix the car?�  a. Como que voc� consertou o carro?  how that you fixed the car b. * Que voc� consertou o carro como? that you fixed the car how  �How did you fix the car?�

33. RETHINKING SS: BP WH-EXCURSION III B. Wh-movement within embedded inter-rogative clauses is obligatory � regardless of whether C0 is null or overt  a. Eu perguntei como (que) voc� consertou o carro.  I asked how that you fixed the car b.*Eu perguntei (que) voc� consertou o carro como. I asked that you fixed the car how �I asked how you fixed the car.�

34. RETHINKING SS: BP WH-EXCURSION IV C. Wh-movement (of arguments) from within embedded clauses is optional if no island is crossed, but prohibited if islands intervene a. Que livro voc� disse que ela comprou? which book you said that she bought b. Voc� disse que ela comprou que livro? you said that she bought which book  �Which book did you say that she bought?� a. * Que livro voc� conversou com o autor [que escreveu]? which book you talked with the author that wrote b. Voc� conversou com o autor [que escreveu que livro]? you talked with the author that wrote which book  �Which book did you say that she bought?�

35. RETHINKING SS: BP WH-EXCURSION V D. Wh-movement of inherently non-D-linked elements is obligatory  a. Que diabo voc� bebeu?  what devil you drankb. * Voc� bebeu que diabo? you drank what devil  �What the hell did you drink?�

36. RETHINKING D-STRUCTURE (DS) DS seems to stand on a firmer footing: �lexical properties meet the grammar� (Theta Theory, X'-Theory), �starting point of the derivation� (PS and insertion), recursion� still: Why DS? Recursion doesn�t need to be built into a level; assume structure-building operation Merge. [IP John [I' Infl [VP said [CP that [IP Bill [I' Infl  [VP saw Mary]]]]]]]

37. RETHINKING DS: CONTROL VS RAISING Properties of control and raising structures This illustrates lexical properties meeting the grammar. � a. Mary hoped to kiss John. controlb. Mary seemed to kiss John. raising subject ?-role expletives idioms voice transparency

38. RETHINKING DS: MERGE I Merge and Theta-Role Assignment Principle Apply Merge (instead of a DS-skeleton) and the TRAP (see below) derivationally � i.e. successive-cyclically. � I wonder what Bill ate. a. I wonder who you said asked what Bill ate.b. I wonder what you asked how John fixed.

39. RETHINKING DS: MERGE II Headless Relative Clauses in Portuguese �Call me what you want� � Ele s� conversa com quem ele concorda.he only talks with who he agrees �He only talks with who he agrees.� DS: * [IP ele s� conversa [CP ele concorda com quem]]  * Ele conversou que ela saiu. he talked that she left  �*He talked that she left.�

40. RETHINKING DS: NULL OPERATORS Standard assumption: null operators can only be DPs, not PPs  a. [Mary laughed at [DP the person]i  [CP OPi John was looking at ti]]b. * [Mary laughed [PP at the person]i  [CP OPi John was looking ti]]

41. RETHINKING DS: TOUGH-MOVEMENT tough-movement is another problem for theories based on DS as a level of representation  a. Moby Dick is hard for Bill to read.b. These books are hard for Bill to read.c. It is hard for Bill to read Moby Dick / these books.

42. RETHINKING DS: TOWARDS A SOLUTION Two necessary adoptions: Extension & TRAP: interaction Merge & Move  What about DS as the starting point of D? If we can dispense with DS as a level of representation, this should be no problem: Enter the (single, unique) Numeration N.

43. THE PICTURE SO FAR N = {Ai, Bj, Ck �} Spell-Out PF LF

44. THE PICTURE SO FAR N = {Ai, Bj, Ck �} Spell-Out PF LF

45. MINIMALIST CONDITIONS I Inclusiveness Condition The LF object ? must be built only from the formal features [FF] of the lexical items LIs part of the initial and unique numeration N for a given linguistic expression.

46. MINIMALIST CONDITIONS II Uniformity Condition The operations available in the covert component (the derivation from Spell-Out to LF) must be the same ones available in overt syntax (the derivation from N to Spell-Out).

47. MINIMALIST CONDITIONS III Procrastinate Features are checked only if they have to; features are thus checked as late as possible: (i) weak features are checked covertly (after Spell-Out, at LF); (ii) strong features must be checked overtly  (prior to Spell-Out).

48. MINIMALIST CONDITIONS IV Extension Condition (preliminary version) Overt applications of Merge and Move can only target root syntactic objects. Theta-Role Assignment Principle (TRAP) ?-roles can only be assigned under a Merge operation.

49. NEXT BLOCK We�ll deal with Theta Theory: the theta module and its properties (GB) an alternative conception of ?-relations (MP) Specifically, we will look at the properties of control and raising structures, what the interplay of Merge and TRAP gives us, and what the PISH tells us about the finer structure of the verb phrase.