15.2061, Diss: Syntax: Rezac: 'Elements of Cyclic Syntax...'

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-15-2061. Mon Jul 12 2004. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 15.2061, Diss: Syntax: Rezac: 'Elements of Cyclic Syntax...'

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1)
Date:  Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:32:55 -0400 (EDT)
From:  mrezac at chass.utoronto.ca
Subject:  Elements of Cyclic Syntax: Agree and Merge

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:32:55 -0400 (EDT)
From:  mrezac at chass.utoronto.ca
Subject:  Elements of Cyclic Syntax: Agree and Merge

Institution: University of Toronto
Program: Department of Linguistics
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2004

Author: Milan Rezac

Dissertation Title: Elements of Cyclic Syntax: Agree and Merge

Dissertation URL: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~mrezac

Linguistic Field: Syntax

Dissertation Director 1: Diane Massam

Dissertation Abstract:

This thesis explores the dependency-forming featural operation Agree
and its interaction with the structure-building operation Merge in
the framework of Chomsky (2000).

Chapter II develops a theory of cyclicity where individual instances
of Merge can change the search-space of a probe.  Such dynamic
cyclicity is motivated from cyclic displacement phenomena where
search-space expands downwards from one cycle to the next through
evacuation of interveners, and the ergative displacement phenomenon in
Basque where search-space expands upwards through cyclic construction
of the phrase marker.

Chapter III shows how Merge composes with Agree in the derivation to
give both movement and copy-raising.  The Merge step is constrained by
the Agree step because Agree transmits the variable names needed to
interpret movement in Heim & Kratzer (1998).  Differences between
movement and copy-raising reduce to the Binding Theory and
copy-deletion in the result, forcing copies in local domains and
pronouns in non-local domains.  English tough-movement exemplifies
copy-raising whose pronoun tail is an ¯A-operator.

Chapter IV explores the ontology of Agree, departing from Chomsky
(2000) where Agree in weak agreement languages manipulates features
rather than atoms and has no further consequences.  It shows that in
strong agreement languages Agree apparently does satisfy the EPP and
is visible to the Binding Theory.  It demonstrates that the
weak/strong distinction does not reflect an ontological difference in
Agree; rather, strong agreement languages make available expletives
with Ø-features (overtly manifested in Czech), yielding more
visibility upon base-generation than expletives of weak agreement
languages.  The ontological ramifications of Agree manipulating
subatomic features but interacting with the structure-building Merge
are discussed.

Chapter V investigates what happens to the goal under Agree, from the
standpoint of Case and deactivation.  It proposes a theory where Agree
affects the goal by assigning it a shell consisting of the category of
the probe, interpreted as Case.  The hypothesis derives the fact that
deactivation can be partial, that shells ("Cases") can be stacked, and
that the same category can assign different Case depending on how its
Ø-probe has been affected earlier in the derivation.

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