Existential Faithfulness: A Study of Reduplicative TETU, Feature Movement, and Dissimilation (review)

Language ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 224-224
Author(s):  
Alan C. L. Yu
Keyword(s):  
Feature Movement

scholarly journals Typology and Feature Checking of Wh-Questions

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Daoshan Ma
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Feature Movement ◽  
Syntactic Behavior ◽  
Feature Checking ◽  
Formal Features

From  the  perspective  of  the  syntactic  behavior  of  wh-questions,  natural languages can be classified into four types: Null Spec Language, Single Filled Spec  Language,  Multiply  Filled  Spec  Language  and  Non-Multiply  Filled Spec Language. Data were collected according to the relevance to the present research  from  each  representative  of  the  four  types  of  languages,  namely, Chinese, English, Bulgarian and Czech. Some of the data in the thesis were taken from the previous literature. Others were from self-introspection. The collected data were analyzed from the point of typology and feature checking. Feature checking in wh-questions of these four types of languages seem to be operated quite differently. Pied-piping of the formal features of the wh-words or  wh-phrases  occur  in  English,  Bulgarian  and  Czech  but  not  in  Chinese. However, feature movement in wh-questions of these four types of languages is universal. This finding proves Chomsky’s biological linguistic belief that language is mainly an optimal solution to conditions it must satisfy.

Minimal feature-movement

1997 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
YOUNGJUN JANG
Keyword(s):  
Negative Polarity ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Polarity Item ◽  
Object Shift ◽  
Negative Polarity Item ◽  
Extensive Data ◽  
Existential Constructions ◽  
Feature Movement ◽  
Case Transmission ◽  
Minimalist Framework

In this article I review two analyses of English existential constructions – the Case-transmission analysis and the expletive-replacement analysis – from the perspective of Chomsky's (1993, 1995) minimalist framework. I show that neither approach is free from empirical problems and that adopting minimalist program can reconcile these difficulties and account for more extensive data as well. I propose that LF feature-raising theory that I adopt here should be more economical than it is now, for example, in Chomsky (1995) so that only the relevant ‘checkable’ features raise at LF. My discussion concerns English existential constructions and Object Shift in Icelandic. In particular, I discuss (a) specificity, (b) scope and (c) negative polarity item licensing and show that the category-raising analysis of the associate of an expletive raises problems concerning these three aspects. The analysis presented in the article will be further supported by facts about predicate raising constructions.

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