Rescue by PF Deletion, Traces as (Non)interveners, and the That-Trace Effect

The article demonstrates that the rescue-by-PF-deletion account of the amelioration effect of island violations under ellipsis, originally noted by Ross (1969), can be extended to account for the that-trace effect, including the adverb amelioration effect, and the lack of intervention effects with certain null arguments that are otherwise found with their overt counterparts, as well as to deduce the generalizations that traces do not count as interveners for relativized minimality effects and that traces void islandhood. The fact that the rescue-by-PF-deletion analysis makes it possible to unify a number of previously unrelated phenomena should be taken as a strong argument in its favor. The current extension of the rescue-by-PF-deletion approach, on which the rescue can arise not only through the deletion process involved in ellipsis but also through regular copy deletion, also accounts for the different behavior of the Superiority Condition and the Wh-Island Condition with respect to the amelioration effect under ellipsis, a surprising difference given that both of these are generally subsumed under relativized minimality effects in current research.

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Japanese

The Oxford Handbook of Ellipsis ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198712398.013.33 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 864-899

Author(s):

Teruhiko Fukaya

Keyword(s):

Crucial Role ◽

Deletion Analysis ◽

Significant Aspect ◽

Null Arguments ◽

Right Node Raising ◽

Case Marker ◽

Vp Ellipsis ◽

Presence And Absence ◽

Deep Anaphora ◽

String Deletion

This chapter provides an overview of, while examining various proposals for, ellipsis in Japanese. Fragments are examined, and it is claimed to be reasonable to assume that stripping, sluicing, and ellipsis in comparatives are a uniform phenomenon while short answers are distinct. It is also argued that the properties of Right-Node Raising can be best captured by a non-constituent string deletion analysis. Three approaches to null arguments are examined, and shortcomings in each are discussed. N’-deletion is then explored and claimed to be ambiguous between two structural possibilities: ellipsis and non-ellipsis. VP-ellipsis, gapping, and pseudo-gapping are also touched upon. One significant aspect of the ellipsis phenomena in Japanese illustrated in this chapter is that the presence and absence of a case-marker plays a crucial role, with case-marked and non-case-marked fragments being analyzed as instances of surface anaphora and deep anaphora, respectively. This indicates the importance of focusing on case-marked versions in the syntactic investigation of these phenomena.

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Intervention in relative clauses: Effects of relativized minimality on L2 representation and processing

Second language Research ◽

10.1177/0267658320958742 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 026765832095874

Author(s):

Vera Yunxiao Xia ◽

Lydia White ◽

Natália Brambatti Guzzo

Keyword(s):

Relative Clause ◽

Relative Clauses ◽

First Language ◽

Head Noun ◽

Intervention Effect ◽

Intervention Effects ◽

Relativized Minimality ◽

The Subject ◽

L1 Acquisition ◽

Picture Identification

This article reports on an experiment investigating the effects of featural Relativized Minimality (Friedmann et al., 2009) on the representation and processing of relative clauses in the second language (L2) English of Mandarin speakers. Object relatives (ORCs) are known to cause greater problems in first language (L1) acquisition and in adult processing than subject relatives (SRCs). Featural Relativized Minimality explains this in terms of intervention effects, caused by a DP (the subject of the ORC) located between the relative head and its source. Intervention effects are claimed to be reduced if the relative head and the intervenor differ in features, such as number (e.g. I know the king who the boys pushed). We hypothesize that L2 learners will show intervention effects when processing ORCs and that such effects will be reduced if the intervenor differs in number from the relative head. There were two tasks: picture identification and self-paced reading. Both manipulated relative clause type (SRC/ORC) and intervenor type (±plural). Accuracy was high in interpreting relative clauses, suggesting no representational problem. Regarding reading times, ORCs were processed slower than SRCs, supporting an intervention effect. However, faster reading times were found in ORCs when intervenor and head noun matched in number, contrary to hypothesis. We suggest that our more stringent stimuli may have resulted in the lack of an effect for mismatched ORCs, in contrast to some earlier findings for L1 acquirers.

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Intervention effects and Relativized Minimality: New experimental evidence from graded judgments

Lingua ◽

10.1016/j.lingua.2016.03.004 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 179 ◽

pp. 76-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Sandra Villata ◽

Luigi Rizzi ◽

Julie Franck

Keyword(s):

Experimental Evidence ◽

Intervention Effects ◽

Relativized Minimality

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Recomplementation and locality of movement in Spanish

Probus ◽

10.1515/probus-2012-0011 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 257-314 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Julio Villa-García

Keyword(s):

Deletion Analysis ◽

Left Periphery ◽

Pf Deletion

Abstract The paper investigates recomplementation (i.e. double-complementizer) constructions in Spanish and provides a number of arguments in favor of analyzing secondary que as the head of TopicP in the left periphery. The paper further examines left-dislocated phrases occurring between overt complementizers and lays out the proposal that sandwiched dislocates are not moved into but merged in the specifier of TopicP, which is headed by secondary que (or its null counterpart). Likewise, it is shown that extraction across double-que constructions is prevented by locality of movement (i.e. any movement operation across secondary que is illicit). The paper argues that the locality effects induced by movement across secondary que are reminiscent of the notorious English Comp-t phenomenon. Drawing on the Rescue-by-PF-Deletion analysis of the ameliorating effect of ellipsis on island violations, the paper provides an account of the contrast between ungrammatical sentences displaying extraction across secondary que and their grammatical counterparts without it.

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Intervention effects in grammar and language acquisition

Probus ◽

10.1515/probus-2018-0006 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 339-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Luigi Rizzi

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Recent Work ◽

Intervention Effects ◽

Object A ◽

Relativized Minimality ◽

Formal Principle ◽

Unitary Approach ◽

Locality Principle ◽

Adults And Children ◽

Weak Islands

Abstract Intervention effects have been thoroughly studied in formal syntax in the domain of weak islands. They also have recently been appealed to in the study of language acquisition, to capture certain difficulties that young children manifest in the mastery of some object A’-bar dependencies (relatives, questions, topicalizations). Can one unify such distinct utilizations of the concept of intervention under a single formal locality principle? This paper explores the possibility of a unitary approach by proposing solutions for observed discrepancies between the effects in adults and children, and more generally between the different utilizations of the concept of intervention in recent work on adult grammar and language acquisition. Relativized Minimality (RM) is seen as a formal principle penalizing configurations as a function of the distinctness between target and intervener in local relations, where distinctness is precisely expressed as a grammar-based notion. A unitary system consisting of RM and an explicit distinctness hierarchy is argued to be operative in intervention effects in grammar and language acquisition.

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Influence of nascent polypeptide positive charges on translation dynamics

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bcj20200303 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 477 (15) ◽

pp. 2921-2934

Author(s):

Rodrigo D. Requião ◽

Géssica C. Barros ◽

Tatiana Domitrovic ◽

Fernando L. Palhano

Keyword(s):

Mrna Decay ◽

Translation Termination ◽

Published Data ◽

Translation Efficiency ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

High Concentration ◽

Strong Argument ◽

Translation Arrest ◽

Exit Tunnel ◽

Positively Charged

Protein segments with a high concentration of positively charged amino acid residues are often used in reporter constructs designed to activate ribosomal mRNA/protein decay pathways, such as those involving nonstop mRNA decay (NSD), no-go mRNA decay (NGD) and the ribosome quality control (RQC) complex. It has been proposed that the electrostatic interaction of the positively charged nascent peptide with the negatively charged ribosomal exit tunnel leads to translation arrest. When stalled long enough, the translation process is terminated with the degradation of the transcript and an incomplete protein. Although early experiments made a strong argument for this mechanism, other features associated with positively charged reporters, such as codon bias and mRNA and protein structure, have emerged as potent inducers of ribosome stalling. We carefully reviewed the published data on the protein and mRNA expression of artificial constructs with diverse compositions as assessed in different organisms. We concluded that, although polybasic sequences generally lead to lower translation efficiency, it appears that an aggravating factor, such as a nonoptimal codon composition, is necessary to cause translation termination events.

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