Abstract
In this paper, after reviewing two distinct approaches to syntactic relations, Epstein et al.'s (1998) derivational approach and Chomsky's (2000) compositional approach, I show that, given Epstein, Kitahara, and Seely's (2010) analysis of structure-building (based on Merge (X, Y) => {X, Y}), the main empirical difference between these two approaches disappears. I then discuss Chomsky's (2007, 2008) suggestion that c-command is eliminable in favor of probe-goal and minimal search conditions. If probe-goal and minimal search conditions are sufficient to characterize not only the empirically desirable aspects of c-command, but also other syntactically significant relations, then any further characterization of such relations appears to be superfluous.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-22 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | English Linguistics |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Keywords
- Merge
- c-command
- minimal search
- probe-goal
- syntactic relations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language