A labeling approach to the removal of island effects via head movement and its consequences

Abstract

The extraction of a constituent is not allowed in particular contexts that are known as “islands”. The islandhood of a structure can be voided through head movement. Different arguments have been advanced to account for this phenomenon. Although these analyses are ingenious, they are not free of problems. Inspired by the assumption of weak heads in labeling theory, we present an additional type of weak head, namely, one that has lost its phonological features in the narrow syntax. This approach, together with the Empty Category Constraint, which states that an empty category must be in a labeled structure to be identified properly, provides a principled account of how head movement can void island effects. Our assumption has interesting theoretical consequences in that it can derive the effect of phasehood inheritance and the Intonational Phrase Edge Generalization.