Table Of ContentOUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
Linguistic Variation in the Minimalist Framework
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
Linguistic Variation
in the Minimalist
Framework
Editedby
M. CARME PICALLO
1
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
3
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OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
Contents
Foreword vi
Notesoncontributors viii
Listofabbreviations xi
Introduction:SyntacticvariationandMinimalistinquiries
M.CarmePicallo
PartI. TheParametricApproach:ThePPRevisitedView
Ontheelementsofsyntacticvariation
LuigiRizzi
Typesofcross-linguisticvariationincaseassignment
MarkBaker
Parametersandthethreefactorsoflanguagedesign
AndersHolmbergandIanRoberts
Cross-linguisticvariationinthesyntaxofsubjects
AnnaCardinaletti
ContactandchangeinaMinimalisttheoryofvariation
RicardoEtxepare
Towardselegantparameters:Languagevariationreducestothesize
oflexically-storedtrees
MichalStarke
PartII. VariationwithoutParameters
WhatPrinciplesandParametersgotwrong
CedricBoeckx
Variabilityandgrammaticalarchitecture
DavidAdger
Syntacticdoublinganddeletionasasourceofvariation
SjefBarbiers
Someconcludingremarks
M.CarmePicallo
References
Indexoflanguagesanddialects
Indexofsubjects
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
Foreword
WiththeexceptionofChapters1and11,thisvolumecontainsasetofessayscorre-
sponding to the papers presented by the speakers invited to the workshop Linguis-
ticVariationintheMinimalistFramework,heldinBarcelonaonJanuary14–15,2010.
At this event, the speakers were asked to present a contribution in response to the
followingcall:
Overthepastyears,thequestionofhowahypothesisonoptimaldesigncanbehar-
monizedwithatheoryofparametershasbeenposedinthegenerativeliterature,either
implicitlyorexplicitly.ThetraditionalGB-PrinciplesandParametersmodelassumeda
highly structured UG architecture, with respect to both principles of grammar as well
as the presumable interaction of their parametric setting, with a hypothetical cascade
of subsequent effects. The Minimalist Program has changed this perspective, the point
atissuebeingnothowmuch,buthowlittlecanbeattributedtoUG.Infact,ourcon-
jectureaboutthedesignofwhatwecallnarrowsyntaxnaturallyleadstotheconclusion
thatUGmayhaveanextraordinarilyreducednumberofprinciples.Moreover,onecould
considerseveralargumentstotheeffectthat,ifdesignisoptimal,thenparametricvari-
ationinthecomputationalsystemispracticallyimpossible:itshouldeitherbelongtothe
Lexicon(whateveritspropertiesare),ortothe(morpho-)phonologicalcomponent.
TheaimoftheworkshopistoconsiderthephenomenonofvariationunderMinimal-
ist premises, both empirically and theoretically. The issue is of paramount importance
giventhecurrentpredicamentintheMinimalistframework,whichdoesnotoffermany
conceptualreasonstoaccountforvariation,for,althoughitundoubtedlyexists,itdoes
notfitwith‘thirdfactor’-likedesiderata.Inordertodoso,theworkshopwillpayspecial
attentiontodiscussing:(i)thenatureof‘principles’and‘parameters’(e.g.Whatistheir
format?Howcanweteasethemapart?Whatisthestatusoftheso-calledmicro-/macro-
distinction?),(ii)theconnectionbetweenvariation,morphology,andtheLexicon,(iii)
theimpactofparametersinaMinimalistarchitecture,and(iv)theroleplayedbythe
interfacesandotherprinciplesnotspecifictothefacultyoflanguage.
Thankstoallcontributors,andtoJuliaSteer,commissioningeditoratOUP,fortheir
interestinthisprojectfromitsinception,andfortheirpatienceatthevariousstagesof
thepublicationprocess.ThanksalsototwoanonymousrefereesforOxfordUniversity
Pressfortheircommentsandsuggestions.Regretfully,threeofthepapersreadatthe
conferencecouldnotbeincludedinthisvolume.
Forthesupportprovidedforthisproject,manythankstothelinguistsattheCen-
tre de Lingüística Teòrica/UAB, in particular O. Borik, J. M. Brucart, A. Fasanella-
Seligrat,Á.Gallego,Y.M.Gutiérrez,J.FernándezSánchez,J.Fortuny,Y.Jeong,A.S.
Markova,S.Martínez-Ferreiro,J.McDonald,G.Rigau,andC.RubioAlcalá.Allthose
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
Foreword vii
whoattendedtheworkshophaveourgratitudefortheirinterestinparticipatingand
forsoactivelycontributingtothediscussions.
FundingbytheprojectsHUM2006-13295-C02(-01/-02),FFI2011-29440-C03-03,and
2009SGR/1079(MinisteriodeCienciaeInnovaciónandGeneralitatdeCatalunya)is
alsoacknowledged.
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
Notes on contributors
DavidAdgerisProfessorofLinguisticsatQueenMary,UniversityofLondon.Heisauthorof
CoreSyntax(OUP,2003),ASyntaxofSubstance(MITPress,2013),andMirrorsandMicropa-
rameters, with D. Harbour and L. Watkins, (CUP, 2009), as well as co-editor of the journal
Syntax(2007–2013).Hispublicationsonsyntaxanditsinterfaceswithothercomponentsofthe
grammarincludearticlesinjournalssuchasLinguisticAnalysis,JournalofLinguistics,Language,
LinguisticInquiry,NaturalLanguageandLinguisticTheory,andInternationalJournalofAmeri-
canLinguistics,amongothers.Heisalsotheauthorofmanybookchaptersinrefereedcollective
volumes.
Mark Baker is Professor of Linguistics at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. He
receivedhisPhDin1985fromMIT,andhasalsotaughtatMcGillUniversity.Hespecializesin
thesyntaxandmorphologyofless-studiedlanguages,seekingtobringtogethergenerative-style
theorizinganddatafromfieldworkandtypologyinawaythatdeepensandilluminatesboth.He
istheauthoroffourresearchmonographsandonebookaddressedtoageneralaudience—The
AtomsofLanguage(BasicBooks,2001).
SjefBarbiersisseniorresearcherattheMeertensInstitute(Amsterdam)andProfessorofVari-
ationLinguisticsatUtrechtUniversity.Hisresearchconcentratesonthetheoryofsyntacticvari-
ation,inparticularsyntacticdoublingphenomena,andisbasedonlarge-scalecomparisonof
thesyntaxofcloselyrelatedlanguagevarieties.HewastheleaderoftheprojectSyntacticAtlas
oftheDutchDialects(SAND;2000–2005)andtheprojectEuropeanDialectSyntax(Edisyn;
2005–2012).HeiscurrentlytheleaderoftheprojectMapsandGrammarontherelationbetween
geographicdistributionoflinguisticfeaturesandthecognitiverepresentationofgrammars.
CedricBoeckxisResearchProfessorattheCatalanInstituteforAdvancedStudies(ICREA),
andamemberoftheDepartmentofLinguisticsattheUniversitatdeBarcelona.Beforecom-
ing to Barcelona, he was Associate Professor of Linguistics at Harvard University. He is the
authorofseveralbooksincluding,amongothers,IslandsandChains(JohnBenjamins,2003),
LinguisticMinimalism(OUP,2006),UnderstandingMinimalistSyntax(Wiley-Blackwell,2007),
BareSyntax(OUP,2008),LanguageinCognition(Wiley-Blackwell,2009),andSyntacticIslands
(CUP,2012).Heisalsotheeditorofnumerousvolumes,thefoundingco-editor,withKleanthes
K.Grohmann,oftheOpenAccessjournalBiolinguistics,andthefoundingeditoroftheOxford
UniversityPressmonographseries‘OxfordStudiesinBiolinguistics’.
AnnaCardinaletti isProfessorofLinguisticsattheCa’FoscariUniversityofVenice.Her
researchinterestsincludecomparativesyntax(Italian,Italiandialects,Germaniclanguages,Ital-
iansignlanguage),languageacquisition,thesyntacticanalysisoftranslations,andtheapplica-
tionsoflinguistictheorytolanguageteaching.Herrecentpublicationsinclude,amongmany
others:‘Ona(wh-)movedTopicinItalian,comparedtoGermanic’inAdvancesinCompara-
tiveGermanicSyntax(JohnBenjamins,2009),‘GermanandItalianModalParticlesandClause
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,1/7/2014,SPi
Notesoncontributors ix
Structure’(LinguisticReview2011),and‘Oncliticomissionandtheacquisitionofsubjectclitic
pronouns’inPronounsandCliticsinEarlyLanguage(2012).
RicardoEtxepareisresearcherattheCNRS(France)andheadofthelabIKER(UMR5478).
His main areas of specialization are semantics, and Basque morphosyntax. His publications
include,amongmanyothers,‘RootInfinitives:AComparativePerspective’,withK.Grohmann
(Probus2003),‘Fromhearsayevidentialitytosamesayingrelations’(Lingua2010),andseveral
chaptersinthecollectivevolumeAGrammarofBasque(MoutondeGruyter,2003).WithU.
EtxeberriaandM.Uribe-Etxeberria,hehaseditedNounsandNominalizationsinBasque(John
Benjamins,2012),andheistheco-editor,withBeatrizFernandez,ofthevolumeVariationin
Datives:AMicro-ComparativePerspective(OUP,2013).
AndersHolmbergisProfessorinTheoreticalLinguisticsatNewcastleUniversity.Hisresearch
interestsaresyntactictheoryandcomparativesyntax.Heistheauthorofmanypapersinpeer-
reviewedinternationalpublicationsincluding,amongothers,‘Istherealittlepro?Evidencefrom
Finnish’(LinguisticInquiry2005),‘Parametersinminimalisttheory:ThecaseofScandinavian’
(TheoreticalLinguistics2010),‘Thesyntax-morphologyrelation’(withI.Roberts,Lingua2013),
and‘Thesyntaxofanswerstonegativeyes/noquestionsinEnglishandSwedish(Lingua2013).
WithT.Biberauer,I.Roberts,andM.Sheehan,hehasco-authoredthevolumeParametricVari-
ation:NullSubjectsinMinimalistTheory(CUP,2010).
M.CarmePicallo isProfessorattheUniversitatAutònomadeBarcelonaandmemberof
theCentredeLingüísticaTeòrica.Herresearchinterestsfocusonsyntactictheoryandsyntactic
variation.
LuigiRizziisProfessorofGeneralLinguisticsattheUniversityofSiena.Hehasbeenonthe
facultyofDepartmentsofLinguisticsinEuropeanandAmericanUniversities:inparticular,
he was Full Professor at the University of Geneva, Associate Professor at MIT (Cambridge,
Massachusetts),andVisitingProfessorattheÉcoleNormaleSupérieure(Paris).Hisresearch
interestsincludesyntactictheoryandcomparativesyntax;inparticular,hecontributedtothe
developmentoftheparametricapproachtosyntacticcomparison,tothetheoryoflocality,and
tothecartographyofsyntacticstructures.Healsoworksonlanguageacquisition,withpartic-
ularreferencetothedevelopmentofmorphosyntaxinthechild.
IanRobertsisProfessorofLinguisticsattheUniversityofCambridgeandafellowofDowning
College,Cambridge.HehasworkedonhistoricalandcomparativesyntaxinCeltic,Germanic,
and Romance languages. He has written several books including, among others, Syntactic
Change:AMinimalistApproachtoGrammaticalization,withA.Roussou(CUP,2003),Diachronic
Syntax(OUP,2007),AgreementandHeadMovement:Clitics,Incorporation,andDefectiveGoals
(MITPress,2010),andParametricVariation:NullSubjectsinMinimalistTheory,withT.Bib-
erauer,A.Holmberg,andM.Sheehan(CUP,2010).Hehasalsoeditedmanyvolumes,among
them,SyntacticVariation:TheDialectsofItaly,withR.D’AlessandroandA.Ledgeway(CUP,
2010).
MichalStarkeistheoriginatorofNanosyntax,atheoryoflanguagewhichseekstounifythe
resultsofmodernsyntax,semantics,andmorphologyintoonecoherentandminimalwhole,
