Univeristy of Connecticut Occasional Papers in Linguistics #3
On the Locality of Move and Agree
Ž. Bošcović, 2005
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.