Understanding Minimalism

by Norbert Hornstein , Jairo Nunes , Kleanthes K. Grohmann

• ISBN13: 9780521531948
• ISBN10: 0521531942
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Understanding Minimalism is a state-of-the-art introduction to the Minimalist Program the current model of syntactic theory within generative linguistics. Accessibly written, it presents the basic principles and techniques of the minimalist program, looking firstly at analyses within Government and Binding Theory (the Minimalist Program's predecessor), and gradually introducing minimalist alternatives. Minimalist models of grammar are presented in a step-by-step fashion, and the ways in which they contrast with GB analyses are clearly explained. Spanning a decade of minimalist thinking, this textbook will enable students to develop a feel for the sorts of questions and problems that minimalism invites, and to master the techniques of minimalist analysis. Over 100 exercises are provided, encouraging them to put these new skills into practice. Understanding Minimalism will be an invaluable text for intermediate and advanced students of syntactic theory, and will set a solid foundation for further study and research within Chomsky's minimalist framework.

Author Biography

Norbert Hornstein is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Maryland Jairo Nunes is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil Kleanthes K. Grohmann is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cyprus

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
List of abbreviations	xiii
The minimalist project	1	(18)
The point of this book	1	(1)
Some background	2	(5)
Big facts, economy, and some minimalist projects	7	(6)
Using GB as a benchmark	13	(1)
The basic story line	14	(2)
Organization of Understanding Minimalism	16	(3)
Some architectural issues in a minimalist setting	19	(57)
Introduction	19	(1)
Main properties of a GB-style theory	19	(5)
General architecture	19	(1)
Levels of representation	20	(2)
The ``T-model''	22	(1)
The Projection Principle	23	(1)
The transformational component	23	(1)
Modules	24	(1)
Government	24	(1)
Minimalist qualms	24	(48)
Rethinking S-Structure	25	(23)
Rethinking D-Structure	48	(24)
The picture so far	72	(4)
Theta domains	76	(35)
Introduction	76	(1)
External arguments	77	(15)
θ-marking of external arguments and government	77	(3)
The Predicate-Internal Subject Hypothesis (PISH)	80	(1)
Some empirical arguments for the PISH	81	(10)
Summary	91	(1)
Ditransitive verbs	92	(9)
The puzzles	92	(4)
Verbal shells I	96	(1)
Verbal shells II	97	(4)
PISH revisited	101	(8)
Simple transitive verbs	101	(4)
Unaccusative and unergative verbs	105	(4)
Conclusion	109	(2)
Case domains	111	(30)
Introduction	111	(2)
Configurations for Case-assignment within GB	113	(3)
A unified Spec-head approach to Case Theory	116	(15)
Checking accusative Case under the Split-Infl Hypothesis	116	(6)
Checking accusative Case under the VP-Shell Hypothesis	122	(1)
Checking oblique Case	123	(4)
PRO and Case Theory	127	(4)
Some empirical consequences	131	(9)
Accusative Case-checking and c-command domains	133	(4)
Accusative Case-checking and overt object movement	137	(3)
Conclusion	140	(1)
Movement and minimality effects	141	(33)
Introduction	141	(2)
Relativized minimality within GB	143	(3)
The problem	146	(2)
Minimality and equidistance	148	(21)
Minimality and equidistance in an Agr-based system	151	(10)
Minimality and equidistance in an Agr-less system	161	(8)
Relativizing minimality to features	169	(3)
Conclusion	172	(2)
Phrase structure	174	(44)
Introduction	174	(2)
X'-Theory and properties of phrase structure	176	(20)
Endocentricity	176	(3)
Binary branching	179	(3)
Singlemotherhood	182	(2)
Bar-levels and constituent parts	184	(5)
Functional heads and X'-Theory	189	(4)
Success and clouds	193	(3)
Bare phrase structure	196	(16)
Functional determination of bar-levels	196	(4)
The operation Merge	200	(8)
Revisiting the properties of phrase structure	208	(4)
The operation Move and the copy theory	212	(5)
Conclusion	217	(1)
Linearization	218	(29)
Introduction	218	(1)
Imposing linear order onto X'-Theory templates	219	(4)
The Linear Correspondence Axiom (LCA)	223	(12)
The LCA and word order variation	235	(5)
Traces and the LCA	240	(6)
Conclusion	246	(1)
Binding Theory	247	(39)
Introduction	247	(1)
Binding Theory phenomena as potential arguments for DS and SS	248	(8)
Warming up	248	(1)
Principle A	249	(3)
Principle B	252	(2)
Principle C	254	(1)
Summary	255	(1)
The copy theory to the rescue	256	(29)
Reconstruction as LF deletion	257	(7)
The Preference Principle	264	(6)
Indices and inclusiveness (where does Binding Theory apply, after all?)	270	(2)
Idiom interpretation and anaphor binding	272	(4)
Further issues	276	(9)
Conclusion	285	(1)
Feature interpretability and feature checking	286	(44)
Introduction	286	(1)
Some questions concerning checking theory	286	(4)
Feature interpretability and Last Resort	290	(12)
Features in the computation	290	(3)
To be or not to be interpretable, that is the question	293	(6)
A case study of expletives	299	(3)
Covert movement	302	(26)
Some problems	302	(2)
Alternative I: Move F	304	(13)
Alternative II: Agree	317	(11)
Conclusion	328	(2)
Derivational economy	330	(36)
Introduction	330	(1)
Economy computations: preliminary remarks	331	(2)
Derivational economy and local computations	333	(12)
Existential constructions: the problem	333	(2)
Preference for Merge over Move	335	(6)
θ-relations and economy computations	341	(4)
The derivation by phase	345	(18)
More on economy and computational complexity	345	(1)
Phases	346	(6)
Subarrays	352	(6)
Working on the edge	358	(5)
Economy of lexical resources	363	(2)
Conclusion	365	(1)
Glossary of minimalist definitions	366	(3)
References	369	(23)
Language index	392	(1)
Name index	393	(4)
Subject index	397