Relativized Minimality

Paperback
$40.00 US
On sale Jun 13, 1990 | 160 Pages | 9780262680615

This monograph presents an important extension of government-binding theory in syntax.

This monograph presents an important extension of government-binding theory in syntax. It offers a new characterization of locality in the theory of government through a relativization of the Minimality Principle, and it explores the consequences of this approach for the Empty Category Principle and the analysis of a variety of empirical domains, including intervention effects, That-trace phenomena, and argument/adjunct asymmetries. The final part of the book is devoted to a new interpretation of the argument/adjunct asymmetries that arise in various extraction processes. Referential indices, a fundamental ingredient of the binding relation, are restricted to occur on referential arguments, as in Chomsky's original proposal. This natural restriction has the surprising effect of capturing the major argument-adjunct asymmetries in a straightforward manner while permitting a radical simplification of the Empty Category Principle.

Luigi Rizzi is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Geneva.

About

This monograph presents an important extension of government-binding theory in syntax.

This monograph presents an important extension of government-binding theory in syntax. It offers a new characterization of locality in the theory of government through a relativization of the Minimality Principle, and it explores the consequences of this approach for the Empty Category Principle and the analysis of a variety of empirical domains, including intervention effects, That-trace phenomena, and argument/adjunct asymmetries. The final part of the book is devoted to a new interpretation of the argument/adjunct asymmetries that arise in various extraction processes. Referential indices, a fundamental ingredient of the binding relation, are restricted to occur on referential arguments, as in Chomsky's original proposal. This natural restriction has the surprising effect of capturing the major argument-adjunct asymmetries in a straightforward manner while permitting a radical simplification of the Empty Category Principle.

Author

Luigi Rizzi is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Geneva.

Books for Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, we are sharing books by women who have shaped history and have fought for their communities. Our list includes books about women who fought for racial justice, abortion rights, equality in the workplace, and ranges in topics from women in politics and prominent women in history to

Read more