Edges in Syntax

Abstract

Abstract This book provides a discussion concerning cyclic syntax by examining the characteristics of syntactic edges and their interactions with linearization and movement. In particular, it contributes to the current debate over how cyclic Spell-out affects the (re)ordering of elements in scrambling. The chapter develops a proposal that accounts for certain peculiarities associated with syntactic edges by exploring three major factors in cyclic syntax. Specifically, it shows that the probe-goal theory of movement restricts certain types of movement out of edges—namely that, (sub-)extraction from an inner edge to an outer edge of the same head is impossible. The book argues that this ordering restriction for syntactic edges is preserved in the subsequent stages of derivation due to cyclic Spell-out and linearization at the interface. Furthermore, it proposes that the edges of a predicational structure in general show the same ordering restrictions, which can be best captured under the thesis that a predicational unit undergoes cyclic Spell-out. Evidence for the book's proposal is drawn from sub-extraction and (re)ordering patterns out of edges in various types of predicational domain. A wide range of scrambling data in Korean and Japanese (with some reference to Russian) are explained by the current proposal. In particular, the consequences of cyclic Spell-out for (sub-)scrambling, types of quantifier floating, predicate fronting, types of argument structure, and secondary predicates are examined in this book.

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