Abstract
The Specified Subject Condition (henceforth SSC) and the Tensed SCondit~ on (henceforth TSC) were proposed in the early seventies by Chomsky as principles of universal grammar, restricting the application of both syntactic movement and rules of semantic interpretation. An early informal reference to these conditions can be found in (Chomsky 1971:34-40). The first detailed technical discussion of the SSC and TSC appeared in Conditions on transformations (henceforth (Chomsky 1973)). Since the publication of the latter work, these two conditions have played a fundamental role in the theory of universal grammar (henceforth UG) within the Chomskyan approach to the study of language. The developmental history of these two conditions in fact provides us with helpful insight into important aspects of both the substantive and the methodological developments which Chomsky's general linguistic theory has undergone within the past decade.
Highlights
5.2.2 The conceptual problems of the OB theory5.2.2.1 A redundancy between the theories of binding and Case .. . 935.2.2.3 An asymmetry between the NIC and SSC/Opacity Condition, and a contradiction regarding the NIC ............... 945.2.2.4 The strangeness of the *[ that - ! ] fi Iter5.2.2.5 The complexity of the OB-indexing conventions (i v)5.2.3 Some empirical problems of the OB binding theory5.3 The GB binding theory as an alternative to the OB binding theory5.3.1 General remarks5.3.2
4.6 A problem for the Opacity Condition solved by structure bui Iding rules
From what has been said in §2.2.2, it follows that the justification for adopting conditions such as the SSC and TSC must take the form of an illustration that the incorporation of these conditions in UG makes it possible to restrict the expressive power of transformational rules
Summary
As in the case of the earlier versions of the SSC and PIC, the Opacity Condition and NIC must be seen \lTithin the context of the overall theory of UC of which they form part. Chomsky (1981a:18) uses the term "S-structure" to refer to the output of the transformational rules. Chomsky (1981a:157-161 and 1981d:128-132) discusses six conceptual problems of this OB theory. From the discussion in (Chomsky 1981d:128ff.) and (Chomsky 1979b:7), it is clear that these conceptual problems, rather than any empirical problems of the OB theory. Chomsky (1981d:128) refers to the "inevitable problems of empirical adequacy" of the OB theory. The latter work contains a fairly detailed exam~na tion of empirical differences between the DB theory and GB theory It is argued (Chomsky 1981d:140) that the GB binding theory overcomes one of the empirical problems of the DB binding theory. In §5.2.3 I will briefly outline these empirical problems
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