Narrow Syntax Research Articles

Second-Language Influence on First-Language Animacy Constraints and Word Order in Korean–English Bilinguals

AbstractDoes second-language (L2) syntactic influence on first-language (L1) reflect long-term changes to L1 syntax or occur only as a result of retrieval difficulties during time-constrained tasks? To evaluate L2 influence on L1 representation of animacy constraints (an element at the syntax–semantics interface) and word order (narrow syntax), we asked Korean–English bilingual speakers to judge sentences for grammaticality under both speeded and unspeeded conditions (Study 1) and to choose the more acceptable sentence of pairs that contained one grammatical and one ungrammatical sentence (Study 2). We found evidence for L2 influence on L1 animacy constraints in all cases and potential L2 influence on L1 word order in Study 1. These results indicate that L2 influence on L1 syntax can be observed even in conditions that reduce retrieval difficulty, implicating changes to underlying L1 representations. They also support the notion of greater susceptibility to change at the syntax–semantics interface.

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

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.

Differential object marking in Catalan

AbstractIn this paper we provide a comprehensive picture of differential object marking in Catalan, focusing on both the empirical facts and their theoretical contribution. We support some important conclusions. First, Catalan differential object marking is quite a robust and widespread phenomenon, contrary to what prescriptive grammars assume. Second, we show that, from a formal perspective, Catalan differential object marking cannot be completely subsumed under hierarchical generalizations known asscales. The contribution of narrow syntax mechanisms and nominal structure is fundamental, supporting recent views byLópez (2012)or Ormazabal and Romero (2007,2010,2013a,b), a.o. Building on these works as well as on observations initially made byCornilescu (2000)andRodríguez-Mondoñedo (2007), a.o., we adopt an analysis under which canonical, animacy-based differential marking results from the presence of an additional (PERSON) feature, beyond Case. This structural make-up is not only at the core of differences marked objects exhibit from unmarked objects with a Case feature, but also derives the prominence of differential marking on (animates) under information-structure processes, in the high left (and right) periphery, in contexts of the type discussed by Escandell-Vidal (2007a,b,2009).

Furthest conjunct agreement in Jordanian Arabic

Agreement with coordination has been a topic of much discussion in the syntactic literature for decades. This is due to its significance in deepening our understanding of key issues, such as the way primitive syntactic operations such as Merge and Agree operate and interact with hierarchical/linear distance, the location of agreement in the grammar, and whether or not narrow syntax, just like the PF, has access to linear order when valuing agreement. This paper empirically and theoretically contributes to the growing body of literature on the topic by investigating agreement with preverbal and sandwiched coordinate phrases in Jordanian Arabic. A special focus will be directed to furthest conjunct agreement, agreement with the first conjunct in preverbal position, since it challenges the mainstream generalization that conjunct agreement occurs with the closest conjunct. The paper reports on a series of four large-scale experiments on Jordanian Arabic and shows that agreement in these domains comes in various forms. Building on Citko (2018), I propose an analysis of the facts that overcomes the problems faced by previous work and that provides support to a new perspective on the computation of agreement, by distinguishing multiple simultaneous Agree that gives rise to resolved agreement from multiple nonsimultaneous Agree, where agreement may be distributed between narrow syntax and the PF.

Subjects in L2 English: The role of feature interpretability

The present paper investigates the learning of subjects in L2 English by Romanian learners with a view to identifying possible developmental differences between referential and non-referential subjects. The main question targets the role that feature interpretability plays in the acquisition process in a context in which the learners’ L1 allows null subjects. The main results reveal relatively early acquisition of subjects in L2 English. In line with the view that narrow syntax is acquirable in L2, the results show that proficient learners have native-like knowledge of subjects. A higher acceptance rate of null expletive subjects even at an advanced proficiency level indicates that non-referential subjects are vulnerable in L2 English. I account for these findings in terms of the Feature Interpretability Hypothesis

Against the Low Periphery as Phrase Markers: Two Types of Contrastive Dislocations in Mandarin Chinese*

AbstractWe argue that the contrastive dislocation to the low peripheral position in Mandarin Chinese does not target phrase markers, like TopicP or FocusP, contra recent proposals that attempt to extend the cartographic theory to the low IP‐area. We argue that such dislocations are best analyzed as PF movements, which display the total reconstruction effect and do not affect the LF interface. We show that the contrastive dislocation to the low periphery in Mandarin Chinese is subject to the same PF licensing condition found in the Object Shift construction in Scandinavian. Our analysis thus claims that the low periphery is not a part of the narrow syntax (unlike the left periphery). The templatic nature of the low periphery explains why it is more restricted across languages and is prone to linguistic variation.

Universality and variation in language

AbstractThis article discusses language universality and language variation, and suggests that there is no feature variation in initial syntax, featural variation arising by metamorphosis under transfer from syntax to PF-morphology. In particular, it explores the Zero Hypothesis, stating that Universal Grammar, UG, only provides two building elements, Root Zero and Edge Feature Zero, zero, as they are purely structural/formal elements with no semantic content in UG. Their potential content is provided by the Concept Mine, a mind-internal but language-external department. UG and narrow syntax has access to the Concept Mine, and this Syntax-Concept Access is unique to humans, a prerequisite for the evolution of language (Section 1). A related idea (also inSection 1) is coined the Generalized Edge Feature Approach, GEFA. It states that Merge always involves at least one edge feature, which precludes symmetric structures and enables Simplest Merge (no Pair-Merge, no Hilbert epsilon operator). The article advocates that there is no syntactic feature selection (Section 2), all syntactic features being universally accessible in the Concept Mine, via Root Zero and Edge Feature Zero. In contrast, there is feature selection in PF (including morphology), yielding variation (Section 3), Gender being a clear example (Section 4). However, there is a widely neglected syntax-to-PF-morphology metamorphosis (Section 5), such that morphological features like [past] are distinct from albeit related to syntactic features like Speech Time. Parameters operate on selected PF features, and not on purely syntactic features, so parameter setting is plausibly closely tied to the syntax-to-PF-morphology metamorphosis (the concludingSection 6). It is suggested that parameters are on the externalization side of language, part of or related to the sensory-motor system, facilitating motoric learning in language acquisition.

Remarks on some minimalist accounts for Binding

The present paper is a reassessment of the empirical and theoretical arguments presented by some of main minimalist accounts for binding. Some if these accounts assume that the binding principles are conditions on LF representations, others argue that they are derived by narrow syntax computations. Despite that, I present some observations indicating that there is not yet a satisfactory minimalist account for binding. The amounted evidence indicates that binding is derivational. However, pragmatics seems also engaged in building coreferentiality.

الگوهای مطابقه در ساختهای کنایی در هورامی: رویکردی کمینهگرا

Accounting for the verbal agreement and its interaction with case marking in both accusative and ergative alignments have always been an interesting line of investigation in generative syntax. Two main approaches have been proposed in this regard within the general framework of Minimalism. The first one, referred to as the classic approach in the available literature, envisages agreement as a parallel mechanism with case marking, taking place in narrow syntax. The second approach, generally known as dependent case-marking approach, not only separates agreement from case marking, but also analyzes it as a two-step phenomenon being unfolded both in narrow syntax, through Agree-Link, and PF, through Agree-Copy. Employing the theoretical apparatus of the dependent case-marking approach, the present paper seeks to study the patterns of verbal agreement in ergative constructions in Hawrami. The explanatory adequacy of this very approach is specifically observed in the theoretical analysis of a special type of ergative constructions in which the direct object takes the form of a possessive NP. The manner through which the possessor of the direct object is overtly manifested in these ergative constructions can determine the outcome of the verbal agreement: if the possessor is expressed via person-marker clitics, the verb agrees in person and number with the possessor, however, if the possessor is realized as an overt NP, the verb agrees with the possessed element. With the intention of analyzing this pattern, it is argued that in both cases the potential targets which the head of T, and consequently the main verb, can agree with are determined in narrow syntax, through Agree-Link while the ultimate form of the agreement affix is determined post-syntactically via Agree-Copy. More specifically, we maintain that Agree-Copy has a direct access to the internal structure of potential targets, and this very fact plays a vital role in determination of agreement patterns.

D-linked and non-d-linkedwh-questions in L2 French and L3 English

AbstractThis study considers L2 French and L3 English ultimate attainment among L1 Moroccan Arabic adult learners. It contrasts the acquisition of two types ofwh-questions: discourse-linked and non-discourse-linked questions in root and embedded forms. The results of two acceptability judgment tasks indicate that the advanced learners in L2 French and L3 English are nativelike on d-linkedwh-questions but less accurate on non-discourse-linked interrogatives. They successfully unlearn resumption as an L1 strategy to form discourse-linked questions. Therefore, contra the prediction of the Interface Hypothesis, discourse-linking is acquirable though it is a property of the syntax-discourse interface. It does not pose more learning difficulty than quantification (formalwh-feature) of narrow syntax. The study indicates that embedding and thereby the processing cognitive load are the deterministic variables, not the language domain of constructions.

Why should syntactic islands exist?

Sentences that are ungrammatical and yet intelligible are instances of what I call perfectly thinkable thoughts. I argue that the existence of perfectly thinkable thoughts is revealing in regard to the question of why syntactic islands should exist. If language is an instrument of thought as understood in the biolinguistics tradition, then a uniquely human subset of thoughts is generated in narrow syntax, which suggests that island constraints cannot be rooted in narrow syntax alone and thus must reflect interface conditions imposed on the output of the computational system and its mapping to external systems.

Prosody and EPP in Swahili

The precise motivation for affixation has not been entirely settled. Noyer (1992) and Hankamer & Mikkelsen (2018) argue that the identity of an affix is recognized in syntax-free contexts or in postsyntactic environments. On the other hand, Richards (2010, 2016) proposes a way of identifying affixes by looking into their metrical dependencies initially detected in narrow syntax. Here, I argue alongside Richards (2016) that these suprasegmental features are visible in syntax and that they trigger XP-movements (see also Branan 2018). According to Contiguity Theory (Richards 2016), overt movements triggered by syntactic features such as [uwh] and Extended Projection Principle (EPP) in the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1993, 1995) are reanalyzed as operations sensitive to the interaction between syntax and prosody. To be more specific, narrow syntax looks at certain phonological information that works in favor of the initial shape of prosody. This suggests that syntactic movement is sensitive to prosodic contiguity prior to spell-out. Richards (2016) discusses some key motivations for movement. They include Probe-Goal Contiguity, Affix Support, and Untethering. Adopting some of the basic assumptions proposed in Match Theory (Selkirk 2009, 2011), Contiguity Theory looks into phonological motivations for wh-movement and EPP. In this paper, I argue that Swahili demands additional explanation as to how prosodic requirements are satisfied. In detail, I present an analysis accounting for the wh-in-situ phenomenon as well as the presence of EPP in Swahili. With regards to the presence of EPP, I propose that Swahili tense affixes require metrical boundaries on both left and right of their peripheries. The metrical boundary on the right is satisfied by the phonological content inside vP. The metrical boundary on its left is satisfied by an XP targeting [Spec,TP] which gives rise to the desired EPP-effect.

Narrow-syntax and post-spellout movements: evidence from the syntax of idiomatic expressions in Arabic varieties

This research paper investigates the syntax of idiomatic expressions consisting of the verb and the object/accompanying adjunct (VP idiomatic expressions, henceforth) in two Arabic varieties: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Jordanian Arabic (JA). It shows that in order for VP idiomatic expressions to obtain their idiomatic reading, the predominate pattern of the word order in each variety (i.e., the VSO word order in MSA, but the SVO word order in JA) should be used; otherwise idiomaticity is not possible (with few exceptional cases discussed in the paper). We offer evidence that this restriction on the idiomaticity of VP idiomatic expressions in Arabic varieties follows from a proposed condition that the subject (even if it is not part of the idiomatic expression) and the verb (in addition to the object) should maintain a structurally local relation with each other in the narrow syntax, i.e. they should be included in the vP phase before the spell-out point. The paper shows that the movement of the verb to T0 in MSA and JA or lack thereof does not break idiomaticity, nor does the movement of the subject to Spec,TP in JA. These facts are taken as an indication that a distinction between narrow-syntax and post-spellout movements should be made. This provides evidence for proposals that distinguish between pre- and post-spellout movements (cf. Chomsky 2001, among others).

Towards a model of the syntax–discourse interface: a syntactic analysis ofplease

This article examines the syntax and semantics ofplease. Using a mainstream generative syntactic framework, I propose that syntactically integratedpleaseis a discourse marker that marks the clause in which it occurs as a request.Pleasemay appear clause-initially or clause-medially as determined by a number of factors, including clause type, modality, negation and the application of ellipsis. There is also a homophonous markerpleasethat occurs in clause-final position; clause-finalpleasedoes not mark requestsper sebut ‘bonds’ a speaker and addressee, reinforcing their relationship as requester and requestee. This analysis ofpleaseprovides support for syntactic approaches to speech act structure, particularly the claim that illocutionary force is part of narrow syntax rather than a solely pragmatic phenomenon. The article provides support for pursuing a model of the syntax–discourse interface in which interactions between discourse markers and clause-internal functional elements, such as mood and modality, form the interface between syntax and discourse.

Strictly Local Impoverishment: An Intervention Effect

Strictly Local Impoverishment: An Intervention Effect

A principle of economy in derivation in L2 grammar: Do everything in narrow syntax

This article proposes a novel account for the overuse of free morphemes and underuse of bound morphemes in English as a second language (L2) based on the framework of Distributed Morphology. It will be argued that an Economy Principle ‘Do everything in Narrow Syntax (DENS)’ operates in the L2 learner’s computational system. Consequently, derivation in Morphology becomes as limited as possible except when applying Vocabulary Items to syntactic objects (Vocabulary Insertion). This results in non-target-like use/acceptance of certain morphemes: Bound morphemes are often omitted in early L2 grammar, and alternative free morphemes may apparently be used instead. Two types of data, namely the overuse of be reported in previous research, and the preference of to-infinitives over -ing gerunds in early L2 grammar, will be presented in support of the proposal, and the plausibility of the operation of DENS will be discussed.

Head movement with semantic effects: Aspectual verb raising in Cantonese

This paper argues that head movement is an operation available in Narrow Syntax (contra Chomsky 2000, i.a.). It provides independent support to a line of research which suggests that head movement can impose interpretive effects. The novel evidence comes from Cantonese aspectual verbs and their interaction with other quantificational elements. I argue that aspectual verbs such as hoici ‘begin’ can undergo head movement, which can enrich the scope possibility of the verb.

Differential object marking and object scrambling in the Guaraní language cluster

Abstract The parallel data discussed in this article suggest that in Guaraní languages differential objects seem far from being exclusively highlighted in morphology. Instead, the Guaraní dom systems exhibit a differential treatment of certain direct objects within narrow syntax. Focusing on [+animate] direct objects, I supply evidence that [+dom] direct objects scramble out of their base position into a higher, vP-internal, projection, namely αP (following López 2012). This short DO scrambling is derived including data from simple transitive, ditransitive, and applicative constructions as well as from object conjunction. The short scrambling within vP is followed by further direct object dislocation into a higher functional domain, an operation described in literature as triggered by φ-feature under T° and targeting a specifier in an expanded functional domain (Freitas 2011b). DOs that move out of their base position may be marked with the overt case marker, homophonous with dat case. The homophony between dat and dom is conceived as morphological opacity in the Guaraní case. Syntactically, however, [+dom] DOs pattern together with their zero-marked acc counterparts, rather than with indirect objects.

Quotation as a challenge for feature-driven phases: An argument for Zwart’s merge

AbstractThe present paper discusses the problem of deriving quotational expressions (QEs) – a relatively unexplored field in the generative tradition – in the context of phase theory (PT). QEs are taken to be built within Narrow Syntax. While this fact is empirically well-motivated, it turns out to be conceptually problematic for cyclic derivations driven by feature makeup. Empirical data show that QEs represent a unique mixture of conflicting properties. On the one hand, they must be interpretable as both atomic and not. This extends to two readings of the embedding of enquotation, which are argued to follow from recursive and purely iterative, non-recursive interpretation. On the other hand, having no limits in length and scope, QEs are more challenging for PT than other non-compositional chunks. I argue that these effects unearth an important conceptual contrast. While they pose certain problems for the Minimalist approach, they naturally follow from the account of Narrow Syntax proposed by Jan-Wouter Zwart. In this regard the gap in applicability of each account to the discussed phenomenon sheds new light on the role of features in PT.

The Derivation of Verb-copying Sentence in Mandarin Chinese

The verb-copying sentence is a special sentence in Chinese and has received extensive attention from the academic circles. Under the framework of Distributed Morphology and MP, the article makes a modified adjustment to the structure derived by phase from the narrow syntax through the post-syntactic “Feature Copying” operation, which is simply the ornamental adjustment to the resulting syntactic structure, to better explain the verb-copying sentence. This analysis does not require a specific syntactic structural hierarchy and is more natural in theory. It is also consistent with mainstream ideas such as lexical array and derivation by phase under the framework of MP.