On Bridge Requirements in English

Abstract

On Bridge Requirements in English A minimalist analysis of island conditions and bridge requirements on wh-movement in English is proposed. It has been traditionally assumed within the generative framework that wh-movement is impossible or degraded across a range of structurally analysable configurations (islands) and acceptable elsewhere (bridges). Structures meeting the configurational requirements but nevertheless having a degraded grammaticality status (non-bridge constructions) were, not rightly, banished from the scope of syntactic research proper. With the advent of minimalism, a syntactic account of non-bridge constructions can be achieved. The paper employs and modifies ideas from, among others, Chomsky (1998 and 1999), Uriagereka (1999), and Franks (2000) to show that the time of merging of a given constituent is crucial for its islandhood. Thanks to a minimalist perspective taken here, unification of bridge and island conditions seems possible. Also, a reinvestigation of Erteschik's (1973) verb typology is offered with an interim conclusion that that factivity of verbs with complement clauses is a decisive factor for their island status.