Abstract
Using English data, I show that Head Movement Constraint violations cannot be repaired by deletion and compare this result with cases of salvation and non-salvation by ellipsis from previous literature. I then consider two possible sources for this lack of repair. The first is to take the Head Movement Constraint as a derivational constraint, and the second is to assimilate it into the Empty Category Principle (Chomsky 1986).
Highlights
Since Ross (1969), ellipsis has been used to probe into the nature of locality restrictions on movement (Perlmutter, 1971; Chomsky, 1972; Chung et al, 1995; Merchant, 1999; Lasnik, 2001; Nakao, 2009; Bošković, 2011; among many others)
I take (38-41) to be bona fide examples of Head Movement Constraint (HMC) violations and (39) and (41) to show that HMC violations cannot be repaired by deletion
Consider again our examples showing that HMC violations cannot be repaired by deletion: 58) *Peter seems to be happy, but John isn’t [VP2 seem [TP to [VP1 tbe happy]]]
Summary
Since Ross (1969), ellipsis has been used to probe into the nature of locality restrictions on movement (Perlmutter, 1971; Chomsky, 1972; Chung et al, 1995; Merchant, 1999; Lasnik, 2001; Nakao, 2009; Bošković, 2011; among many others). The main idea in the literature on repair is that movement that crosses an island causes a local representation problem, marked below with a *-feature on the island boundary (Chomsky, 1972; Lasnik, 2001; Merchant, 2008; Bošković, 2011). Mary wants to find any student I gave a certain book to, but I don’t know which book Mary wants to find *[any student [RC I gave twhich_book to]] (PF deletion). The head W adjoins to the head X jumping over Z This results in a violation of the HMC. I will show that ellipsis does not repair HMC violations like the one in (3) and explore some reasons why.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Ilha do Desterro A Journal of English Language, Literatures in English and Cultural Studies
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
