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A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory I Background CAS LX 523 Syntax II and because the syntax can’t add anything). A phrase structure tree under this view must Spring 2002 February 4, 2002 be simply lexical items, in combination: a bare phrase structure. Paul Hagstrom Week 3: A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory I The derivation starts with a numeration, which is an array of lexical choices to be Background to the Minimalist Program reorganized by the system. (Not a set, but close). CHL, stuck between A–P (PF) and C–I (LF), which impose requirements. The computational system (recursively) generates syntactic objects from the objects Is human language more than an optimal solution to those requirements? available in the numeration and those syntactic objects already formed. We Is all of the complexity we find in syntax ultimately traceable to the design requirements? “rearrange” what we had in the numeration—putting things together, sometimes making copies, and that’s it. Nothing added. Strong Minimalist Thesis: (1) Language is an optimal solution to legibility conditions We start with lexical items. We need to end up with a single syntactic object. So, we need an operation to combines things. The simplest operation would be one that takes two Some starting points, assuming (1) and the idea that less machinery is better than more. existing objects and puts them together to form one—Merge. (2)a. The only linguistically significant levels are the interface levels. What kind of syntactic object do we get after Merge? Must be made of things we already b. The interpretability condition: Lexical items have no features other had in the lexicon (bundles of features). Merge(α, β) = {α, β}? No, verb phrases act like than those interpreted at the interface (properties of sound and verb phrases and not noun phrases—we need the combined object to have the meaning). properties of the head of the phrase. We have to label the phrase to indicate what kind of c. The inclusiveness condition: The machinery of syntax (CHL) does not phrase it is. introduce any new features not already contained in the lexical items. The syntactic object formed by Merge has a label γ and the two merged objects α and β: d. Relations used by CHL are either (i) imposed by the interface, or (ii) {γ, {α, β}}. natural relations arising from the computational process itself. We can’t add anything, so γ must be something based on either α or β; since it is marking Features and the lexicon—Part one which of α or β is the head, we can just say that γ is either α or β, depending on which one is the head of the complex (that is, depending on which one projects). UG makes available a set F of features (linguistic properties) and computational operations combine saw and Mary: saw CHL (the computational procedure for human language) which make use of F to form 3 expressions. A particular language L uses F to form a particular set of expressions {EXP}. {saw, { saw, Mary } } saw Mary A given EXP is a pairing of meaning (LF) and sound (PF), interface representations. We need to be able to tell the difference between maximal and minimal projections (heads A language L takes those features and bundles them, forming a lexicon. and phrases). But we can’t introduce meaningful notation (like “P” or “bar”) in the computation, and things in the lexicon are heads, not phrases. How can we tell the Bare phrase structure difference? (2c) says that CHL can’t add anything that wasn’t already part of the lexical items. No new We can then read X-bar-like relations off of a tree, just by looking at the context. features. This implies that we can’t (meaningfully) mark things as being an X-bar, or an XP, or a trace. We can’t make syntactic use of indices (since they weren’t part of the lexical item (3) will { will, { {the,{the,cradle}}, {will,{will,fall}}}} qp As you were the will (detail missing in “VP” however) 33 Now that we have a conceptual basis for phrase structure, we can go back to writing things the cradle will fall pretty much how we did before, just with these issues in the back of our minds. A head is a terminal element drawn from the lexicon/numeration. The complement is the (5) T { will, { {the,{the,cradle}}, {will,{will,fall}}}} thing merged with the head, the most local relation. The specifiers are the other relations. qp The maximal projection of α is a constituent for which α doesn’t project the label. DT(detail still missing in “VP”) 33 What this means is that Merge derives much of what X-bar theory stipulated. DNTV • binary branching (Merge combines two things) the cradle will fall • one head • properties of the head determine the properties of the phrase This is just labeling the nodes with the category feature (arguably one of the most • complements and specifiers must be maximal projections important features of a lexical item) rather than spelling it all the way out. But there are some things left over: We could even go back to writing in the bars and Ps, just with the understanding that they • can only have one specifier? have no meaning for the syntax (and we don’t write any “empty” things, so no non- • can only have one complement? branching nodes, etc.). People often do this, just for comfort. • must have three levels (head, intermediate, maximal) (6) TP { will, { {the,{the,cradle}}, {will,{will,fall}}}} Also notice that cradle is both a head and a maximal projection, all at once. qp DP T′ Question is: Were the extra parts of X-bar theory really doing us any good? Can we do 33 without the parts of X-bar theory that don’t come for free? DNPTVP (for free … derives from Merge, which we an interpretable language needs the cradle will fall anyway… LF only interprets single syntactic objects, lexicon provides a bunch of objects in the numeration, so we have to combine them…) What syntax cares about Procedure: Start with (1), then seek to disprove it. Search for apparent Syntax cares about some features more than others. It cares about category. It doesn’t care imperfections—things that do not seem to arise from requirements of the interfaces. about “starts with p”. No known language treats two sentences, one with cat and one with dog, differently in any formal way. For any apparent imperfection P, any of the following could be true: We could even go so far as to say that syntax doesn’t really “see” anything but certain (4)a.P is a real imperfection. Therefore, (1) is false. features (even if there are other features in the “bundle”). It sees category features ([T], b. P is not real; the existence of P is only apparent, and (1) may still be true. [D], etc.), and so it deals only with those. c. P is real, but not an imperfection—it is part of an optimal solution to the legibility conditions of the interfaces. The goal is always (4b) or, better, (4c)—since (4c) give us insight into the legibility conditions themselves. (7) T { T, { {D,{D,N}}, {T,{T,V}}}} Movement qp DT It is an irreducible fact about language that things move from the place where they’re 33 interpreted. DNTV (9) Bill is likely to seem unhappy. Same operations for The cradle will fall and A boat might sink. No different as far as (10) What did Mary ask Sue to buy? syntax is concerned. (11) The sandwich was eaten by Martin. C-command and other relations Putting aside why for a moment, how do we move things? With BPS, we can define certain syntactic relations quite easily. Prior syntactic research has given us reason to believe that the subject moves from SpecVP Sister of (other element in a Merge) to SpecTP. Contain (sub-elements of a syntactic object) (12) workspace: {Bill, [PAST], saw, Mary} This also gives us c-command, which has proven to be very important in syntax. Contain ( Sister of ) combine saw and Mary:V′ 3 One relation that we don’t seem to have a very easy time with is government. VDP saw Mary Recall: X governs its sister, its specifier (under some definitions), and the specifier of its sister. (13) workspace: {Bill, [PAST], [V′ saw Mary]} (8) X combine Bill and [ saw Mary]: VP 3 V′ W X 3 3 DP V′ X Y Bill 3 3 VDP Z Y saw Mary # (14) workspace: { [PAST], [VP Bill saw Mary]} We can’t even really talk about the specifier relation in any simple way (we’ll get back to that), but it’s really hard to talk about specifier of the sister in a simple way. combine [PAST] and VP: T′ 3 Accusative case assignment was for a long time considered to require the relation of TVP government. [PAST] 3 DP V′ In a BPS system, we can’t make use of that relation—we need another way to do Case. Bill 3 We’ll return to that. VDP saw Mary (15) workspace: { [TP [PAST] Bill saw Mary]} Mick [past] say that Keith likes which song about himself. Now what? We have nothing left. (Well, maybe C). Mick [past] say which song about himself that Keith likes t. What do we want to end up with? which song about himself [past] Mick t say t′ that Keith likes t. Idea: Instead of Merge of two objects from the numeration, we pick something inside the tree, make a copy of it, and Merge it with the tree.
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