These essays explore wide ranging aspects of the syntax and semantics of human languages. They also examines methods in generative linguistics, and the role of rules vs. principles in syntactic theory. Key topics covered in the work include: DT movement phenomena and the syntax of logical form DT the representation and semantic interpretation of certain empty categories DT, and the formation and representation of A-chains, A-bar chains and verb-chains. The book presents a bold hypothesis concerning methods of determining unification vs. non-unification of syntactic principles, based on...

This pathbreaking study presents a new perspective on the role of derivation, the series of operations by which sentences are formed. Working within the Minimalist Program and focusing on English, the authors develop an original theory of generative syntax, providing illuminating new analyses of some central syntactic constructions. Two key questions are explored: first, can the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) be eliminated from Minimalist analysis without loss, and perhaps with a gain in empirical coverage; and second, is the construct 'A-Chain' similarly eliminable? The authors argue...

Derivation and Explanation in the Minimalist Program presents accessible, cutting edge research on an enduring and fundamental question confronting all linguistic inquiry - the respective roles of derivation and representation.

• Presents accessible, cutting edge research on the respective roles of derivation and representation in syntactic inquiry.
• Discusses a wide range of phenomena and also includes alternative, representational perspectives.
• Features papers by M. Brody, C. Collins, S. Epstein, J. Frampton, S. Gutmann, N. Hornstein, R. Kayne, H....

O. THE CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME AND THE FIELD OF COMPARATIVE GERMANIC SYNTAX Comparati ve synchronic and diachronic syntax has become an increasingly popular and fruitful research area over the past 10-15 years. A central reason for this is that recent developments in linguistic theory have made it possible to formulate explicit and testable hypotheses concerning syntactic universals and cross-linguistic varia tion. Here we refer to the so-called "Principles-and-Parameters" approaches (see Chomsky 1981a, 1982, 1986a, and also Williams 1987, Freidin 1991, Chomsky and Lasnik 1993, and references...

The essays in this collection explore wide-ranging aspects of the syntax and semantics of human languages. Key topics covered include movement phenomena and the syntax of logical form, methods in generative linguistics and the role of rules versus principles in syntactic theory.