Missing labels

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of labels created by External and Internal Merge operations. The standard minimalist assumption is that in External Merge structures, one of the merged elements projects as the label, and in Internal Merge structures, the Probe does. However, these two options do not exhaust all the possibilities. For External Merge of α and β, the options that do not violate Inclusiveness are: ( i) Project α, ( ii) Project β, ( iii) Project Both α and β, and ( iv) Project Neither α nor β. For Internal Merge, the options are: ( i) Project Probe, ( ii) Project Goal, ( iii) Project Both Probe and Goal, and (iv) Project Neither Probe nor Goal. The proposal I defend in this paper, both on theoretical and empirical grounds, is that all these possibilities are in fact attested. I focus on the following, previously unattested, ones: Project Both in External Merge, and Project Goal and Project Both in Internal Merge structures.