Explorations of Phase Theory: Features and Arguments

321 Pages·2009·1.98 MB·English

by  Grohmann

Explorations of Phase
Theory: Features and
Arguments
edited by
Kleanthes K. Grohmann
Mouton de Gruyter
Explorations of Phase Theory:
Features and Arguments
≥
Interface Explorations 18
Editors
Artemis Alexiadou
T. Alan Hall
Mouton de Gruyter
Berlin · New York
Explorations of Phase Theory:
Features and Arguments
edited by
Kleanthes K.Grohmann
Mouton de Gruyter
Berlin · New York
MoutondeGruyter(formerlyMouton,TheHague)
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Explorations of phase theory : features and arguments / edited by
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Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-3-11-020520-6(hardcover:alk.paper)
1.Minimalisttheory(Linguistics) 2.Generativegrammar 3.Gram-
mar,Comparativeandgeneral(cid:2)Syntax. I.Grohmann,KleanthesK.
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2009002411
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Contents

Exploring features and arguments..................................... 1
Kleanthes K. Grohmann

Remarks on features.................................................. 21
Halldór Ármann Sigurðsson

Feature valuation by sideward movement.............................. 53
Bartosz Wiland

On Incrementality, overt agreement, theta-roles and Spec,Head
relations in the phase-based framework................................ 87
Iván Ortega-Santos

Structural case, locality, and cyclicity................................ 107
Thomas McFadden

PRO, pro, and NP-trace (raising) are interpretations.................. 131
M. Rita Manzini

Movement of arguments and negative feature........................ 181
Masaaki Kamiya

Inner aspect and phases............................................. 207
Jonathan E. MacDonald

How to become passive............................................. 231
Berit Gehrke and Nino Grillo

Ergativity, accusativity, and the order of Merge and Agree ........... 269
Gereon Müller

Contributors ....................................................... 309
Index.............................................................. 311

Exploring features and arguments

Kleanthes K. Grohmann

1. Introduction

The InterPhases conference, held at Casteliotissa Hall in the Old Town of
Nicosia, Cyprus 18–20 May 2006, was an attempt to bring together linguists
working on all kinds of interface-related issues (the inter-part of the title)
pertaining to current, generative syntactic theory (such as the eponymous
phases). It was also many things beyond this narrow aim; in particular, the
event sparked a lot of interest and discussion. At the conference, 25 papers
were delivered orally (incl. Noam Chomsky’s keynote address and three in-
vited lectures; see also Grohmann 2009b) and another 25 posters presented.
All in all, close to 200 linguists got together, interacted lively, and ex-
changed ideas for a good week, if the Edges in Syntax conference immedi-
ately preceding is taken into consideration as well (on this combined Cyprus
Syntaxfest, see the introduction to Grohmann & Panagiotidis 2009). Above
all, the hope was that the conference was also successful intellectually. The
present collection, and its sister volume Explorations of Phase Theory: Inter-
pretation at the Interfaces, is one effort to give testimony to that hope.1
The present compilation is assembled from work accepted for presenta-
tion at the InterPhases conference. Apart from an invited speaker’s work
(Müller), selected oral (Manzini, Sigurðsson) and poster presentations
(Geraci, Gehrke & Grillo, Kamiya, MacDonald, Ortega-Santos), as well as
one that unfortunately had to be canceled (McFadden), have been specially
prepared for this volume by the authors, having benefited greatly from the
feedback received at the conference and afterwards. In addition, one more
chapter was solicited explicitly for this volume (Wiland). The selection
criterion for this collection is that each chapter explicitly address issues con-
cerning Features and Arguments – the sub-title of this volume – all framed

1 This ‘sister volume’ volume on “Explorations of Phase Theory” also derived
from the InterPhases conference (Interface Explorations 17). Note that the two
introductions share large parts, in particular sections 1 and 2 as well as the overall
arrangement, but, of course, differ in sections 3 and 4, the volume-specific the-
matic and contributions overviews.
2 Kleanthes K. Grohmann
within the leading theme of this volume (and the previous, the above-
mentioned sister volume), “Explorations of Phase Theory”.
Before briefly presenting each contribution in turn, and putting it in per-
spective to this collection, I will introduce the volume with a sketch of the
fundamental properties of Phase Theory and of what kind of interesting or
relevant aspects features and arguments provide, also with respect to those
contributions that take a more critical stance towards Phase Theory as un-
derstood in current research.

2. Phase theory

For the purposes of the present collection, I take ‘Phase Theory’ to be rep-
resentative of the leading developments within the current, generative frame-
work collectively referred to as the Minimalist Program, instigated by Noam
Chomsky’s early minimalist work, then published as Chomsky (1995). Phase
Theory – employed here sometimes in alternation with the term ‘phase-
based approach’ and other synonyms – collectively refers to Chomsky’s
(2000) proposal, originally circulated in 1998, his subsequent work over the
past 10 years, and various extensions by other scholars, which I will briefly
sketch in this section.2
Chomsky’s formulation of the syntactic derivation by phase addresses
certain aspects of a ‘dynamic’ approach to the computation, originally ad-
vanced by Uriagereka in the mid-1990s (published as Uriagereka 1997,
1999), the so-called ‘Multiple Spell-Out Hypothesis’ (see the sister volume
to the present collection for more discussion). The major point of departure
from earlier instantiations of the Minimalist Program here lies in the archi-
tecture of the grammar. While minimalism as conceived of in Chomsky
(1993, 1995) adhered to a slightly modified form of the Y- or T-model from
the GB era (Chomsky 1981, 1986), where the interpretive interface levels LF
(Logical Form) and PF (Phonetic or Phonological Form) were accessed once
through the single application of the operation Spell-Out, as in (1),

2 For textbook introductions, see Adger (2003: ch. 10), Radford (2004: ch. 10), and
Hornstein et al. (2005: ch. 10), Lasnik & Uriagereka with Boeckx (2005: section
7.4), and Boeckx (2008: section 3.2), among others. More elaborate expositions,
including interesting extensions, of Phase Theory include the recent dissertations
by Richards (2004), Hiraiwa (2005), and Gallego (2007), to name but a few, and
a host of research monographs and collected volumes (see also den Dikken
2007 and peer responses).
Exploring features and arguments 3
(1) LEX (qua numeration or lexical array)

Spell-Out PF (instructing the SM system)

LF (instructing the C-I system)

Phase Theory explores a more intricate view of Transfer. The major dif-
ference lies in the (new) operation Transfer, that is, from narrow syntax
(NS) to the interpretive interface levels LF and PF. Access on all other
sides remains as conceived before, that is (finer details aside), NS starts off
with some kind of pre-selection from the Lexicon (LEX) in the form of a
numeration or, as it is now known in Phase Theory, lexical array and the
interpretive – or, as used here (see Grohmann 2009a for discussion), modu-
lar – interface levels still feed the linguistic interfaces known as the Sen-
sorimotor (SM) system and Conceptual-Intentional (C-I) system, respec-
tively.
Transfer is the ‘super-operation’ (Lasnik & Uriagereka with Boeckx
2005) feeding the modular interfaces, made up of Transfer to LF (Interpret)
and Transfer to PF (Spell-Out). Within Phase Theory, Transfer thus under-
stood is assumed to apply more than once, throughout the derivation –
which leads to a dynamic evaluation of NS, to use a popular term. This can
be captured by the diagram in (2), adapted from Boeckx (2008).

(2)
lf pf

lf pf

lf pf
. .
. .
. .