The Role of Economy Principles in Linguistic Theory PDF
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Chris Wilder, Hans-Martin Gärtner and Manfred Bierwisch (Eds.) The Role of Economy Principles in Linguistic Theory studia grammatica Herausgegeben von Manfred Bierwisch unter Mitwirkung von Hubert Haider, Stuttgart Paul Kiparsky, Stanford Angelika Kratzer, Amherst Jürgen Kunze, Berlin David Pesetsky, Cambridge (Massachusetts) Dieter Wunderlich, Düsseldorf studia grammatica 40 Chris Wilder, T hü R | 0 e Hans-Martin Gärtner 1 1 f EcOnOITiy PrÌlìCÌpleS and Manfred Bierwisch Q in Linguistic Theory Akademie Verlag Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme The role of economy principles in linguistic theorie Chris Wilder ... (ed.). - Berlin : Akad. Verl., 1996 (Studia grammatica ; 40) ISBN 3-05-002897-1 NE: Wilder, Chris (Hrsg.]; GT ISSN 0081-6469 © Akademie Verlag GmbH, Berlin 1997 Der Akademie Verlag ist ein Unternehmen der VCH-Verlagsgruppe. Gedruckt auf chlorfrei gebleichtem Papier. 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Druck und Bindung: Druckhaus „Thomas Müntzer" GmbH, Bad Langensalza Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany Preface Following the appearance of Chomsky's Minimalist Program, much work in generative linguistics has focussed on the role of Economy, both in the sense of a heuristic principle, i.e. one that guides theory construction, and as a constitutive principle in the design of language, i.e. as a property of the object under study. In the latter sense, Economy has previously figured in explanations in phonology, morphology and lexicon theory, in the guise of underspecification hypotheses and the 'elsewhere condition'. The Minimalist Program itself is an attempt to derive major properties of linguistic representations, and of their syntactic mode of construction, from Economy-related principles which interact with morphological properties of lexical items. The papers in this volume represent differing views on the scope and nature of Economy principles in domains of syntax, morphology and the lexicon, offering extensions of and alternatives to the version outlined by Chomsky. They include case studies of specific phenomena as well as discussion of theoretical issues. The at times highly complex empirical discussion ranges across such diverse topics as A'-movement constructions in English, French, German, Japanese and Korean; pleonastic subjects in English and Icelandic; the clitic pronoun system of Spanish; and inverse-linking morphology in Georgian and Sioux. The theoretical issues underlying this discussion include specific aspects such as the role of the theta-criterion, the nature of c-command, aspects of the syntax-morphology and syntax-phonology interfaces. The common theme is the evidence for assuming competition among syntactic or morphological derivations, and the nature of the economy or optimality principles that choose among them. This volume grew out of a conference under the same title which we hosted in Berlin in February 1995, with the generous support of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Speakers at that meeting whose contributions are not included here were Gisbert Fanselow, Jane Grimshaw and Jan Köster. The paper by Gereon Müller, who did not participate in the conference, is included here for its particular relevance to the theme of the book. It essentially complements Wolfgang Sternefeld's paper, a reflection of the long-standing collaboration between these two authors. For their help in the preparation of the manuscript, we would like to thank the individual authors, and also our exemplary editorial assistants, Andrea Johanna Hess and Jutta Romberg. Chris Wilder Hans-Martin Gärtner Manfred Bierwisch Brought to you by | provisional account Unauthenticated Download Date | 1/2/20 2:41 PM Brought to you by | provisional account Unauthenticated Download Date | 1/2/20 2:41 PM Contents Chris Wilder and Hans-Martin Gärtner Introduction 1 John Frampton Expletive Insertion 36 Günther Grewendorf and Joachim Säbel Jf/;-Scrambling in the Minimalist Framework 58 Wolfgang Sternefeld Comparing Reference Sets 81 Gereon Müller Optional Movement and the Interaction of Economy Constraints 115 Tanya Reinhart Interface Economy and Markedness 146 Juan Uriagereka Formal and Substantive Elegance in the Minimalist Program 170 Hubert Haider Economy in Syntax is Projective Economy 205 Manfred Bierwisch Lexical Information from a Minimalist Point of View 227 Dieter Wunderlich A Minimalist Model of Inflectional Morphology 267 Adresscs of Contributors 299 Introduction Chris Wilder and Hans-Martin Gärtner Generative linguistics, it is fair to say, is dominated by developments in syntactic theory; and for the past few years, work in generative syntax has been heavily influenced by what has come to be known as 'the Minimalist Program' (MP). The seminal paper that ushered in the MP was Chomsky's "A minimalist program for linguistic theory" (1993); this was followed by two papers defining a 'second phase'— "Bare Phrase Structure" (Chomsky 1995a) and "Categories and Transformations" (Chapter 4 of Chomsky 1995b).1 At the core of the MP lies the idea that economy is a central property of the system of language. This is fleshed out in terms of concrete principles of UG that instantiate the overarching economy idea. Although economy principles have previously figured in explanations in phonology, morphology and lexicon theory (underspecification, elsewhere condition), as well as syntax, it is only with the MP that the role of economy has become a central topic on the linguistic agenda. This is especially true of syntax, but there is also convergence with developments in neighbouring subfields, as this volume illustrates. The papers collected here present differing views on the scope and nature of economy principles in syntax, morphology and the lexicon, offering extensions of and alternatives to the version outlined by Chomsky. In the following, we set out basic dimensions of the economy concept, and draw attention to some antecedents to the economy principles of MP. We then plot some of the main features of the MP itself. In part II, we introduce the contributions to the volume, relating them to the larger context. (Throughout, we refer to papers in this volume by author's name(s) in small capitals.) I Background 1 Economy: From Heuristic to Object of Study In simple, informal terms, an economy principle can be expressed through an injunction like (1). This in turn can be decomposed into a 'last resort' principle, and a 'laziness' ('least effort') principle: (1) 'Do only what needs to be done.' Brought to you by | Cambridge University Library Authenticated Download Date | 11/27/19 3:05 PM 2 (2) a. Last Resort. 'Do what must be done.' b. Least Effort: 'Do not do what need not be done.' (2a) differs from (2b): compliance with (2a) is necessary to attain some goal, while non- compliance with (2b) does not necessarily lead to failure. But under certain conditions—scarcity of resources, a large number of goals to be fulfilled—(2b) can join (2a) as necessary for success. Taken together, these constitute a general economy principle (in practice, Last Resort is usually understood as implying (2b), and Least Effort as implying (2a), so that the two end up describing the same coin by its different sides). The usual role of (l)/(2) in science is as a heuristic guiding construction of theories commonly referred to as Occam's razor. But such maxims may have different— deeper?—import, reflecting principles underlying the design of the cognitive systems which the theories are about. Throughout, we need to distinguish these two aspects of the MP:2 (3) a. Economy (I): A heuristic, a principle governing the way we go about constructing theories (explanations). b. Economy (II): A property of the object of study, i.e. a constitutive principle in the design of language (UG). The importance of economy principles in explaining language use, and cognitive processes in general, has long been recognised.3 Such principles have also made regular appearance in models of specific competence domains, cf. the Elsewhere principle in the lexicon, minimality and locality principles in syntax and phonology. The major innovation of the MP has been the elevation of Economy to a fundamental constitutive principle in the design of the language faculty as a whole. 4 This nontrivial step from Economy I to Economy II is much in line with Chomsky's scientific realism: A naturalistic approach to linguistic and mental aspects of the world seeks to construct intelligible explanatory theories, taking as "real" what we are led to posit in this quest. . . (1995c: 1). Technically, it is important to recognize the comparison (or competion) inherent in the economy concept. A general format for economy principles is a simple injunction: "Minimize X". Minimization is a process of comparison and selection, presupposing (i) a set of alternatives, comparable in terms of bearing some property X, and (ii) a scale that orders these in terms of amount or degree of X: a 'price list'. Comparison of the alternatives determines which is the minimal ('cheapest') one. This then forms the correct choice by virtue of its properties in comparison with alternative candidates of its set. In an alternative image, selection can be envisaged as the outcome of competition among alternatives, the 'winner' having scored the most (or least!) points on the scale. This characterization leaves open parameters—the set of alternatives, the X of the price-list—that can be defined according to the nature of the system being described. 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