Toward a Theory of Movement Rules

M. Baltin, 1978

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Abstract
 

This thesis attempts to answer two questions. First, given the mechanisms in the Extended Standard Theory of syntax, must we still posit syntactic movement rules? As well as showing that the answer to this question must be in the affirmative in Chapters 3 and 4, an attempt is made to constrain the power of these movement rules. The main focus of the attempt to constrain movement rules is on the position to which moved elements move. An explanation is also given for the absence of rules which extrapose elements to the left in Chapter 2. The main approach to these attempts to constrain the power of movement rules lies in a notation for writing movement rules devised here.

 
Thesis Supervisor: Noam Chomsky
Title: Institute Professor
 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 On the Status of Extraposition Rules


Section I Rule Interaction Arguments

Section II On Formulating the Construal Schema

Section III Further Arguments

Section IV Two Final Modifications

Section V Concluding Remarks

Footnotes to Chapter 2

Chapter 3 Bounding and Construal


Section I Theories of Bounding

Section II PP As a Bounding Node

Section III On the Nature of Bounding

Footnotes to Chapter 3

Chapter 4 On the Notion of “Structural Change” in Movement Rules


Section I Relative Clause Extraposition

Section II Extraposition

Section III On Comp-Substitution

Section IV On Movements to VP Boundaries

Section V On Position I

Section VI Landing Sites in Universal Grammar

Footnotes to Chapter 4