The macroparameter in a microparametric world

Abstract

This paper considers the role of macroparameters in parametric theory. It is argued that a system in which all syntactic variation is ascribed solely to microparametric differences in the make-up of functional heads, as assumed under the so-called Borer-Chomsky Conjecture, cannot account for actually attested patterns of variation. In the word-order domain, for example, the facts seem to point to the kind of bimodal distribution expected on a macroparametric view, with microparameters accounting for the observed “noise”. A similar scenario is also argued to obtain in the domain of agreement, once two new macroparameters, presented here, are taken into account.

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