Defective Interveners, Adjuncts, and Two-Peaked Structure
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Transcript of Defective Interveners, Adjuncts, and Two-Peaked Structure
1
Defective Interveners, Adjuncts, and
“Two-Peaked” Structure
SUZUKI Norio
1. Introduction
The concept of free simplest Merge embedded within the general
framework of labeling algorithm (LA) of Chomsky (2013, 2014),
combined for the purposes here with the notion of “two-peaked”
structure in the sense of Epstein, Kitahara, and Seely (EKS 2013,
2014), is shown to have an interesting, explanatory potential for
accounting for fine grammaticality distinctions observable in such
specific constructions as tough-constructions (TCs) and subject-to-
subject raising constructions (SSRs) involving a “defective”
intervener (DI; usually, as an experiencer PP) and an adjunct phrase
(Adj) in English and French. We will also see that some variation in
grammaticality resulting from the position of the relevant DI or Adj
in such constructions receives an interesting account based on the
discussion presented below (e.g., examples (15a-d) in section 3),
along with some discussion on the ‘exceptional,’ grammatical status
of English SSRs involving a DI or Adj, such as Ruprecht seems to his
subordinates/in meetings to be a masterful commander (Bruening
2014: 715 (23a, b)).
The goal of this paper is to provide some evidence supporting the
“free” status of free simplest Merge (encompassing both external and
internal Merge (EM & IM)) in the sense of Chomsky (2013, 2014)
and Epstein, Kitahara, and Seely (EKS 2012a,b, 2013, 2014). The
discussion is based on a new analysis of tough-constructions (TCs;
2
Suzuki 2014, 2015) and subject-to-subject raising constructions
(SSRs) involving a “defective” intervener (DI; usually, as an
experiencer PP) and an adjunct phrase (Adj) in English and French.
The concept of being free for present purposes can be understood
rather fully via the following observation from EKS (2014: 463-464):
(1) “… Merge,1 formulated in the simplest form, applies freely (i.e.,
without ‘teleological purpose’) as long as it conforms to
third-factor principles such as the no-tampering condition and
the condition of inclusiveness. Merge, by hypothesis, is no
longer operating in order to create a configuration that allows
interface-illegitimate features to be checked; it is not ‘purposeful’
in the sense of early Minimalism in that it is no longer driven by
convergence conditions (e.g., the valuation of φ-features or Case
features). Concepts such as ‘derivational economy’ no longer
determine ― internal to the narrow syntax (NS) ― when Merge
must apply and when it cannot. Rather, Merge is free; it
optionally applies (and so crashing happens; that is, the system
is not crash-proof) … since IM is arguably not driven by θ-
theory (…), and since IM and EM are two possible applications
of the single operation Merge, then EM cannot be driven by
θ-theory either. If so, there is nothing left for Merge to be driven
by (not for convergence and not for coherence). Consequently, it
is not ‘driven’ at all, which means that it is simply available to
apply, …” (emphasis ― NS)
1 As for Merge, I basically follow Chomsky (2007, 2008). But see
EKS (2012b: 265-266) for interesting discussion on the EPP and the
edge feature (EF) and their proposal to take the EPP (their ‘double’ EF)
to be a derived property via feature-inheritance.
3
I take the latter “free” property of free simplest Merge seriously, and
in the analysis of such relevant constructions from Bruening (2014)
as *Sugar was very hard on me/in such conditions to give up (English
TCs) and Ruprecht seems to his subordinates/in meetings to be a
masterful commander (English SSRs), the free simplest Merge
framework allows of unlabeled structures containing a DI or an Adj
(Chomsky’s 2013, 2014 Labeling Algorithm), such as “… XP … {α
{DI/Adj, {C, {TP … to … XP …}}}}”, where α is an unlabeled
syntactic object (SO) in the sense of Chomsky (2013, 2014). While
it may never be the case under any theta-theoretic or semantic
considerations that the embedded CP and the DI/Adj can form a
constituent, I take the unlabeled structure α to be the null-
hypothetically created (i.e., from the bottom-up, ‘extensional’),
intermediate derivational consequence of free simplest Merge as it
applies to the relevant English TCs and SSRs above. And to the
extent that my analysis reported here in terms of this free approach to
these constructions is successful (as opposed to the difficulty other
‘non-free’ approaches face in their analysis of these constructions), I
take the results in this paper to constitute some viable evidence in
support of “free” property at least in NS of free simplest Merge in the
sense of Chomsky (2013, 2014) and EKS (2012a,b, 2013, 2014).
2. Some Preliminary Remarks and Assumptions
For the purposes of discussion here, I follow Bruening (2014) in
assuming that the problem at hand isn’t necessarily concerned only
with the so-called “defective interveners” as they have been
discussed and analyzed in the past literature (i.e., usually,
‘experiencers’), but that it may be extended to the case involving
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“adjuncts,” which situation I take to invite an explanation in terms of
the presence of a “two-peaked/double peak” structure in the sense of
EKS (2013, 2014). My analysis is based on the following three
assumptions:
(2) a. “Two-peaked/double peak” structure (EKS 2013, 2014).
b. “Copy-deletion (CD)”: “Delete all sisters of lower
occurrences (OCCs) of a mover” (EKS 2013; where,
following Chomsky 1995, ‘an occurrence of X is defined as
a category to which X is Merged, i.e., its derivational sister’;
CD following from a third factor principle of Minimal
Computation: Pronounce as little as possible).
c. Recoverability: “Interpret features at least once” (EKS
2013; one of the two very general laws, the other of which is
Minimal Computation forcing features to be interpreted at
most once; see (2b) above).
“Free” simplest Merge unifying external & internal Merge (EM &
IM; Chomsky 2013, 2014) allows of unlabeled structures containing
a DI or an adjunct (Chomsky’s 2013 Labeling Algorithm).
Moreover, DIs & adjuncts turn out to be in a “two-peaked/double
peak” structure. When the mover’s copy in “one set” of the “two-
peaked/double peak” structure is deleted by CD, a DI (or an adjunct)
in “the other set” must also be deleted. This is because the mover’s
copy & DI (or adjunct) share an OCC. Deletion of the DI or adjunct
ends up violating Recoverability at the sensorimotor (SM) interface
because it is the sole copy. This account based on “two-peaked/
double peak” structure is not applicable to English SSRs (John seems
to Mary/in meetings to be smart) due to lack of such a “two-peaked/
double peak” structure (involving to Mary/in meetings; see below).
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The empirical domain of my analysis covers tough- (TCs) and
subject-to-subject raising constructions (SSRs) involving a
“defective” intervener (DI; usually, as an experiencer PP) and an
adjunct phrase (Adj) in English and French. As for the embedded
clause of the English TC, I take it to be a CP corresponding to the
A’-portion of the (improper) A-A’-A chain (Lasnik 2012; see also
Messick 2013, Obata and Epstein 2012, Suzuki 2014, 2015). I
further follow the standard assumption that the “ultimate” form of the
embedded clause of the English SSR is a TP. And as for the
embedded clauses of the French TC and SSR, I tentatively take them
to be CPs in view of the properties of null prepositional
complementizers of the French-type in the sense of Kayne (1983),
which derive largely from the property of French disallowing
preposition-stranding (see below; but as for TCs, see Suzuki 2014: 77
for some complicating observations based on Wurmbrand 2001 and
Chomsky 1982 that “… tough-construction counterparts in such
languages as German and Romance languages do not contain an
‘A’-portion,’ as opposed to English TCs …”). The paradigms to be
accounted for in the present article are exemplified by the following
examples, largely taken from Bruening (2014):
(3) a. *Cholesterol is important to Mary to avoid. (an English TC,
with a DI) (Cf. Linguists are difficult (for philosophers) to
please (= Hicks’ 2009: 540 (15a)), with the observation that
‘…tough-predicates also assign a Ө-role to an apparently
optional experiencer within a for-phrase.’; Hicks 2009: 550-
551: ‘… [aP difficult [AP for philosophers [A’ (difficult)
[CP]]]]’; & ‘(difficult)’ not being the sole copy (see below
for discussion and examples); See further Suzuki 2015 for a
somewhat detailed structural analysis of TCs such as Books
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are important for Mary to read, as opposed to the
ungrammatical *Books are important for Mary for her
children to read (see also Chomsky 1977))
b. *Sugar was very hard in such conditions to give up.
(an English TC, with an Adj)
c. John seems to Mary to be smart.
(an English SSR, with a DI)
d. Ruprecht seems in meetings to be a masterful commander.
(an English SSR, with an Adj)
(4) a. *Cette couleur est difficile pour les chiens à voir. (a French
TC, with a DI; ‘This color is difficult for dogs to see’)
b. *Cette couleur est difficile au crépuscule à voir. (a French
TC, with an Adj; ‘This color is difficult at twilight to see’)
c. *Jean a semblé à Marie avoir du talent. (a French SSR,
with a DI; ‘Jean seemed to Marie to have talent’)
d. ??Jean a semblé au cours de la réunion avoir du talent.
(a French SSR, with an Adj; ‘Jean seemed during the
meeting to have talent’)
For the purposes of the examples in (3, 4) above, I take their
embedded complements to be uniformly CPs (to which I turn below)
with some different properties associated with the head C depending
on the examples in question. I generally do not go into any specific
details about the NS-derivational construction of these embedded
CPs (see Chomsky 2013, 2014 for the most recent minimalist
treatment of the strong phases CP and v*P in the general framework
of free simplest Merge). But some remarks may be in order on
further NS-derivation beyond the embedded CP. Take a look at
the relevant portion of example (3a): “to Mary to avoid.” Given the
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embedded CP to avoid, there should basically be at least two NS-
structures for the experiencer PP to Mary above it: (i) ‘[[to Mary]
CP]’; and (ii) ‘[to [Mary CP]].’ While Mary Merges with CP and
then to with Mary + CP in (ii), to and Mary Merge to form a
constituent before they Merge with CP in (i). Noting that both (i)
and (ii) are possible NS configurations in the general framework of
free simplest Merge and that (ii) may ultimately be ruled out in some
way or other, I focus on (i) for present purposes with the experiencer
PPs and adjunct phrases dealt with as single constituents as well in
the other examples. Given the framework of free simplest Merge,
even many more ways of NS-derivational construction involving
much variation in constituency, order, and hierarchy might in
principle be available for the purposes of NS-derivation of the
examples in (3a-d, 4a-d). But given third-factor principles
involving Minimal Computation & Minimal Search, I assume that
perhaps the most plausible mode, if not the only mode, of their NS-
derivation should be a null-hypothetical one (i.e., from the bottom-
up, ‘extensional’) mentioned above.
3. Applying Chomsky’s 2013 Labeling Algorithm combined
with EKS’s 2013, 2014 “Two-Peaked” Structure
Chomsky (2013: 43) observes: “… there is a fixed labeling
algorithm LA that licenses SOs (syntactic objects ― NS) so that they
can be interpreted at the interfaces, operating at the phase level along
with other operations. The simplest assumption is that LA is just
minimal search, presumably appropriating a third factor principle …”
(emphasis ― NS; ‘label identification by minimal search’; see EKS
2014). Consider the SO in need of labeling: ‘{XP, YP}, neither a
head,’ with three ‘labeling’ possibilities as shown in (5) (Chomsky
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2013: 43-46):
(5) a. … XP … {XP, YP}: SO, labeled based on YP; raising of XP
b. {XP[+F], YP[+F]}: SO, labeled based on [+F]; ‘feature-sharing’
c. *{XP, YP}: SO, unlabeled in the absence of (5a) or (5b)
Look at the structures in (6a, b), the former of which shows the
relevant, simplified portion of the NS-derivational structure for the
examples in (3a,b, 4a-d) above and the latter of which the relevant
NS-derivational structure for (3c,d). Notice that both contain an
unlabeled SO α:
(6) a. *… XP … {α {DI/Adj, {XP, {CF, {TP … to … XP …}}}}}
b. … XP … {α {DI/Adj, {CE, {TP … to … XP …}}}}
The SO α consists of a DI (usually, an experiencer-PP)/Adj (i.e.,
adjunct phrase) and the embedded CP. The C-head positions of the
infinitival embedded clauses in (6a, b) are occupied by CF and CE
respectively (notations CF & CE for expository purposes; with CF &
CE as null prepositional complementizers with French & English
properties, roughly in the sense of Kayne 1983 that there is
preposition-stranding in English but not in French). Recall the
differences in properties of prepositions between French and English,
based on Kayne (1983: chapter 5), as exemplified in such examples
as *Qui a-t-elle voté pour? (who has she voted for)/Who did she vote
for? The mover XP has to pass through the embedded SpecCP in
the CF case (6a), while it does not in the CE case (6b) (see Kayne
1983). English TCs are assumed to involve embedded CPs with CF
as its C-head (see also Hartman 2009 and Hicks 2009). In (6a), we
see a “two-peaked” structure consisting of two intersecting sets: (i)
9
{α{DI/Adj, {CF, TP}}}; and (ii) {XP, {CF, TP}}. Notice based on
EKS (2014) that “there may no longer be any need to appeal to the
standard notion of ‘phase’ defined in terms of LAs (lexical
arrays)/SAs (lexical subarrays) and ‘Merge over Move.’” Then at
the stage of NS-derivation for (6a) where CF has Merged, we
basically have two Merging options: EM of DI/Adj and IM of XP.
And recall that EM takes place before IM for efficiency reasons
(EKS 2013). CD of XP entails deletion of the DI/Adj due to their
shared OCC (‘{CF, TP}’), in violation of Recoverability at SM
because the ‘deleted’ DI/Adj is the sole copy (see (2a-c) above). In
(6b), there is no such “two-peaked/double peak” structure because
the DI/Adj & XP (lower copy) do not share an OCC. But in (6b) α
is still unlabeled as an instance of (5c) (to which I return below).
Let us see some important consequences obtained by concretely
applying Chomsky’s (2013) LA to some of the examples in (3-4)
above. Note that the analyses in (7-9) below include the “two-
peaked/double peak” structures for the ungrammatical examples in
(3a,b, 4c), as shown in (bi, ii) in each case. We then see the
grammatical example (10) (= (3c)):
(7) a. *Cholesterol is important to Mary to avoid.
(= (3a); an English TC, with a DI)
b. A “two-peaked” structure at the stage of NS-derivation of
the embedded CP:
(i) {α{to Mary}, {CF, {T (to), {PRO, {v, {avoid,
cholesterol}}}}}}
(ii) {cholesterol, {CF, {T (to), {PRO, {v, {avoid,
cholesterol}}}}}}
(8) a. *Sugar was very hard in such conditions to give up.
(= (3b); an English TC, with an Adj)
10
b. A “two-peaked” structure at the stage of NS-derivation of
the embedded CP:
(i) {α{in such conditions}, {CF, {T (to), {PRO, {v, {give up,
sugar}}}}}}
(ii) {sugar, {CF, {T (to), {PRO, {v, {give up, sugar}}}}}}
(9) a. *Jean a semblé à Marie avoir du talent. (= (4c); a French
SSR, with a DI; ‘Jean seemed to Marie to have talent’)
b. A “two-peaked” structure at the stage of NS-derivation of
the embedded CP:
(i) {α{à Marie}, {CF, { Jean, {T, {Jean, {v, {avoir, du
talent}}}}}}}
(ii) {Jean, {CF, {Jean, {T, {Jean, {v, {avoir, du talent}}}}}}}
(10) a. John seems to Mary to be smart.
(= (3c); an English SSR, with a DI)
b. No “two-peaked” structure at the stage of NS-derivation of
the embedded CP:
(i) {α{to Mary}, {CE, { John, {T (to), {v, {be, {John,
smart}}}}}}}
(ii) John …{α{to Mary}, {CE, { John, {T (to), {v, {be,
{John, smart}}}}}}}
Let us see the ungrammatical examples (7-9) one by one in terms of
EKS’s (2013, 2014) assumptions in (2a-c) above, focusing on the
“two-peaked/double peak” structure in each case, with the darkened
portions in (bi, ii) of (7-9) corresponding to the OCCs (i.e.,
occurrences) shared by the relevant elements in each case. In (7 =
(3a)), when CD (i.e., copy-deletion) deletes the copy in the embedded
[Spec, CF] of the moving element cholesterol in accordance with
Minimal Computation (see (7bii)), it also deletes the DI to Mary (see
(7bi)) because they are sisters of one of the lower OCCs (i.e., {CF,
11
TP}; see (7bi,ii)) of the mover cholesterol. And the deletion of the
DI to Mary ends up violating Recoverability at the sensorimotor
(SM) interface because it is the sole copy. In (8 = (3b)), when the
mover’s copy sugar in the embedded [Spec, CF] is deleted by CD
(see (8bii)), the Adj in such conditions must also be deleted (see
(8bi)). This is because the mover’s copy and Adj share an OCC (i.e.,
{CF, TP}; see (8bi,ii)). Deletion of the Adj ends up violating
Recoverability at the sensorimotor (SM) interface because it is the
sole copy. In (9 = (4c)), when the mover’s copy Jean in the
embedded [Spec, CF] is deleted by CD (see (9bii)), the DI à Marie
must also be deleted (see (9bi)). This is because the mover’s copy
and DI share an OCC (i.e., {CF, TP}; see (9bi,ii)). Deletion of the
DI ends up violating Recoverability at the sensorimotor (SM)
interface because it is the sole copy. In (10 = (3c)), there is no such
“two-peaked/double peak” structure because the DI to Mary and the
lower copies of John do not share an OCC. But the problem with
(10 = (3c)) is that α is still unlabeled as an instance of (5c).
Notice that the availability in English of preposition-stranding
allows us to obtain for (10 = (3c)): ‘{v, {seem + PP (to Mary) + CE,
{α {(PP (to Mary)), {(CE), {John, {T (to), …}}}}}}},’ where the PP
(to Mary) incorporates into seem to cause CE to be (ultimately)
adjacent to seem and CE incorporates into the complex head (also
Baker 1988, López 2012). This allows α to be labeled based on TP
(‘{John, {T (to), …}}’). I propose that the PP incorporate into
seem, vacating its position, so as to make CE adjacent to seem, and
that CE further incorporate into the complex head. This should be
understood along the lines of such English “preposition stranding”
cases as The book was talked about. This then leads α to be labeled
based on TP (i.e., ‘{John, {T (to), …}}’). This analysis of (10 =
(3c)) may apply to such ECM sentences as John was said to me to be
12
guilty/ Mary proved John to me to be a liar (Bruening 2014):
(11) a. John was said to me to be guilty.
b. No OCC shared by to me & any copy of John:
(i) {α{to me}, {CE, { John, {T (to), {v, {be, {John,
guilty}}}}}}}
(ii) John …{α{to me}, {CE, { John, {T (to), {v, {be, {John,
guilty}}}}}}}
(12) a. Mary proved John to me to be a liar.
b. No OCC shared by to me & any copy of John:
(i) {α{to me}, {CE, { John, {T (to), {v, {be, {John, a
liar}}}}}}}
(ii) … John …{α{to me}, {CE, { John, {T (to), {v, {be, {John,
a liar}}}}}}}
We see that in (11, 12) α is still unlabeled as an instance of (5c).
Notice that the availability in English of preposition-stranding allows
us to obtain for (11, 12): ‘{v, {said + PP (to me) + CE, {α {(PP (to
me)), {(CE), {John, {T (to), …}}}}}}}’ and ‘{v, {proved + PP (to
me) + CE, {α {(PP (to me)), {(CE), {John, {T (to), …}}}}}}}’ (with
the structures rather simplified) respectively, where the PP (to me)
incorporates into said/proved to cause CE (ultimately) adjacent to
said/proved and CE incorporates into the complex head (also Baker
1988, López 2012). This allows α to be labeled based on TP
(‘{John, {T (to), …}}’). If on track, this may derive the “TP-status”
of complements to English raising & ECM predicates. And,
moreover, if the analysis here is on track, it may provide some
additional evidence for the general framework of “free” simplest
Merge of Chomsky (2013). Then consider an interesting
consequence of this analysis:
13
(13) You’ll meet a man [αtomorrow *(who) you’ve seen before].
(= Bruening’s 2014 (25b))
English restrictive relatives are assumed to contain a CF in the
embedded C (the notation CF for expository purposes; see Suzuki
2012, 2015 along with other important works cited therein). Look
at the structures in (14), related to (13):
(14) a * … {v + meet, {a man, {(meet), {tomorrow, {a man, {CF,
{TP you’ve …}}}}}}} (for (13) without who: *You’ll meet
a man tomorrow you’ve seen before; with the darkened
OCC shared by tomorrow & a man (lower copy))
b. … {v + meet, {a man, {(meet), {tomorrow, {a man, {who,
{CF, {TP you’ve…}}}}}}}} (for (13) with who: You’ll
meet a man tomorrow who you’ve seen before; Kayne
1994: 95 for NS-derivation of who & man: i.e., ‘… a [man
[who man] [C … [who man]…]]’)
Note that I follow Kayne (1994: 118) in reanalyzing relative clause
extraposition as relative clause stranding. In (13/14a), tomorrow &
a man (lower copy) share an OCC, {CF, TP}, and deletion of
tomorrow along with CD of a man (lower copy) induces a violation
of Recoverability at the SM interface. In (13/14b), the OCCs of a
man (lower copy) & tomorrow are {who, {CF, TP}} and {CF, TP}
respectively, maintaining the grammatical status of the structure.
Some remarks may be in order here on the examples in (15a-d) below
basically from Bruening (2014) in terms of Chomsky’s (2013, 2014)
labeling algorithm (LA) strengthened by the three assumptions in
(2a-c) above in the sense of EKS (2013, 2014):
14
(15) a. It is important (to Mary) to avoid cholesterol.
(= Bruening’s 2014: (1a))
b. Cholesterol is important (*to Mary) to avoid.
(= Bruening’s 2014: (1b))
c. To Mary, cholesterol is important to avoid.
(= Bruening’s 2014: (1c))
d. Cholesterol is to Mary important to avoid.
(based on The president is to many people annoying to
listen to (= Bruening’s 2014: (5c))
I take (15c, d) to be derived by moving to Mary from its original
position found in ((15b) with to Mary in it; *Cholesterol is important
to Mary to avoid). To move to Mary from its original position in
((15b) with to Mary) may allow us to avoid violating Recoverability
at the SM interface in (15c, d) because the “deleted” copy of to Mary
along with CD of cholesterol in the embedded [Spec, CF] may not be
the sole copy.
4. Conclusion
We have seen some interesting results obtained by applying
Chomsky’s (2013) labeling algorithm (LA) to tough-constructions
(TCs) and subject-to-subject raising constructions (SSRs) involving a
“defective” intervener (DI; as an experiencer PP) and an adjunct
phrase (Adj) in English and French (largely taken from Bruening
2014). Moreover, Chomsky’s LA has been strengthened by the
three assumptions in (2a-c) above in the sense of EKS (2013, 2014).
Recall further one more very important assumption in section 2
above that I have made to the effect that third-factor principles
15
involving Minimal Computation and Minimal Search somehow
require perhaps the most ‘simplified’ mode of NS-derivation in
general, that is, the null-hypothetical (i.e., from the bottom-up,
‘extensional’) NS-derivational mode. We have discussed in section
2 above a possible way that the relevant portion “to Mary to avoid”
in the ungrammatical English TC with the DI in it *Cholesterol is
important to Mary to avoid (3a) may be dealt with (see some relevant
discussion above). But, given perhaps the optimal (as opposed to
the absolute) nature (which may be more or less generally relevant
across linguistic principles) of the null-hypothetical NS-derivational
mode, we might not be able to exclude in principle such a ‘non-
default-wise’-created (i.e., not “from-the-bottom-up +
extensional”; see above) NS-derivational construction as the
following: “[[X [to Mary]] …]]” (based on (3a) above), where the DI
to Mary is merged with the other materials in the matrix sentence (as
in His cooperation is important to me, which is completely
grammatical as it is). But in the case of (3a), we would further have
to merge the CP to avoid with Cholesterol is important to Mary, to
obtain the structure ‘[[Cholesterol is important to Mary] [to avoid]]’,
which might be an adjunction structure of some sort, irrespective of
its semantic interpretability. But the crucial problem with this
structure for (3a) is that the TC-subject cholesterol may not be
connected with the object position of the embedded verb avoid for
lack of (asymmetric) c-command of to avoid on the part of the
TC-subject. Moreover, (3a) with the structure ‘[[Cholesterol is
important to Mary] [to avoid]]’ may not be derivable, given the more
or less standard treatment of TCs (see Chomsky1977, 1982, Messick
2013, Lasnik 2012, Obata and Epstein 2012, Hicks 2009, Suzuki
2014, 2015). While it may not be possible for me to scrutinize for
their grammaticality all ‘non-default-wise’-created (i.e., not “from-
16
the-bottom-up + extensional”) NS-derivational sentences associated
with a given TC-construction, I here try a different but rather
‘plausible’ tack by taking seriously the “free” property of free
simplest Merge in the framework of Chomsky (2013, 2014) and EKS
(2012a,b, 2013, 2014) and keeping to the null-hypothetical (i.e.,
from the bottom-up, ‘extensional’) NS-derivational mode, which
should be perhaps the most ‘simplified’ mode of NS-derivation in
general and hence, which seems to be required by third-factor
principles involving Minimal Computation and Minimal Search (see
above for discussion). Insofar as this approach to the problem is on
the right track, we may be faring quite nicely in respect of the SMT
as well. Notice incidentally that the so-called CED (i.e., ‘Condition
on Extraction Domains’ in the sense of Huang 1982; e.g., subjects,
adjuncts) cases involve what Uriagereka (2002: chapter 3) called a
(separate, and hence, to be spelled-out) command unit (CU; which
‘emerges in a derivation through the continuous application of Merge’
(Uriagereka 2002: 46)) in his Multiple Spell-Out (MSO) framework.
What NS-derivations may be obtained in the null-hypothetical (i.e.,
from the bottom-up, ‘extensional’) NS-derivational mode discussed
above may correspond to Uriagereka’s (2002) command units.
While I note that possible problems arising from various interaction
between CUs may be dealt with in terms of Uriagereka’s (2002)
MSO, I defer until future research my own treatment of such CUs as
subjects and adjuncts and subsequent solution of problems with their
derivation in the context of labeling algorithm in the sense of
Chomsky (2013, 2014) combined with “Two-Peaked” Structure of
EKS (2012a,b, 2013, 2014).
* This paper is based on the poster presentation I made at the 8th
International Spring Forum 2015 of the English Linguistic Society of
17
Japan held at Seikei Universty, Tokyo, on 19 April 2015.
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