On the Locality of Move and
Agree
by eljko Bošković
UCONN Occasional Papers in Linguistics 3 (2005)
Simona Herdan and Miguel Rodríguez-Mondoñedo
(eds)
The paper proposes a new theory of successive cyclic
movement which reconciles the early and the current minimalist
approach to successive cyclicity. As in the early approach,
there is no feature checking in intermediate positions
of successive cyclic movement. However, as in the current
approach and in contrast to early minimalism, successive
cyclic movement starts before the final target of movement
enters the structure, and the Form Chain operation is
eliminated. The paper also argues that the locality of
Move and Agree is radically different, Agree being free
from several mechanisms that constrain Move, in particular,
phases and the Activation Condition. However, it is shown
that there is no need to take phases to define locality
domains of syntax or posit the Activation Condition as
an independent principle of the grammar. The two still
hold empirically for Move as theorems. The Generalized
EPP (the I-need-a-Spec property of attracting heads) and
the Inverse Case Filter are also shown to be dispensable.
A system is developed in which movement is always driven
by a formal inadequacy of the moving element, whereas
Agree is driven by a formal inadequacy of the target.
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