Merging Features

Computation, Interpretation, and Acquisition

José M. Brucart, Anna Gavarró, and Jaume Solà

Contains cutting edge research by world class scholars
Addresses issues in first language acquisition as well as adult grammar
Draws on data from a wide range of languages

Merging Features

Computation, Interpretation, and Acquisition

José M. Brucart, Anna Gavarró, and Jaume Solà

Description

This book presents new work on how Merge and formal features, two basic factors in the Minimalist Program, should determine the syntactic computation of natural language. Merge combines simpler objects into more complex ones. Formal features establish dependencies within objects. In this book leading scholars examine the intricate ways in which these two factors interact to generate well-formed derivations in natural language. It is divided into two parts concerned with formal features and interpretable features - a subset of formal features. The authors combine grammatical theory with the analysis of data drawn from a wide range of languages, both in the adult grammar and in first language acquisition. The mechanisms at work in linguistic computation are considered in relation to a variety of linguistic phenomena, including A-binding, A'-dependencies and reconstruction, agreement, word order, adjuncts, pronouns and complementizers.

Merging Features

Computation, Interpretation, and Acquisition

José M. Brucart, Anna Gavarró, and Jaume Solà

1:Merge and features: a minimalist introduction
Part I Formal Features
2:Probing Phrases, Pronouns, and Binding, Fredrik Heinat
3:Wh-agreement and Bounded Unbounded Movement, Patricia Schneider-Zioga
4:Universal 20 Without the LCA, Klaus Abels and Ad Neeleman
5:What it Means (not) to Know (number) Agreement, Carson Schütze
6:Number Agreement in English and Xhosa, Jill de Villiers and Sandile Gxilishe
7:Variable vs. Consistent Input: Comparehension of Plural Morphology and Verbal Agreement in Children, Karen Miller and Cristina Schmitt
8:Processing Grammatical Features by Italian Children, Fabrizio Arosio, Flavia Adani, and M. Teresa Guasti
Part II Interpretable Features
9:When Movement Fails to Reconstruct, Nicolas Guilliot and Nouman Malkawi
10:If Non-simultaneous Spell-out Exists, This is What it can Explain, Franc Marusic
11:What Adjuncts Tell us About Case, Agreement, and Syntax in General, Joseph Edmonds
12:The Diversity of Dative Experiencers, György Rákosi
13:Homogeneity and Flexibility in Temporal Modification, Aniko Csirmaz
14:The Syntactically Well-behaved Comparative Correlative, heather Lee Taylor
15:Some Silent First Person Plurals, Richard Kayne
16:From Greek to Germanic: Poly-(*in)-definiteness and Weak/Strong Adjectival Inflection, Thomas Leu
17:Acquisition of Plurality in a Language Without Plurality, Alan Munn, Xiaofei Zhang, and Cristina Schmitt

Merging Features

Computation, Interpretation, and Acquisition

José M. Brucart, Anna Gavarró, and Jaume Solà

Author Information

José M. Brucart, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Anna Gavarró, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and Jaume Solà, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Contributors:

José M. Brucart, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Anna Gavarró, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Jaume Solà, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Klaus Abels, University College London
Flavia Adani, Università Milano-Bicocca
Fabrizio Arosio, Università Milano-Bicocca
Aniko Csirmaz, University of Utah
Joseph Edmonds, Universidad del Pais Vasco
Maria Teresa Guasti, Università di Milano Bicocca
Nicolas Guilliot, University of Toronto
Sandile Gxilishe, University of Cape Town
Fredrik Heinat, Göteborg University
Richard Kayne, New York University
Thomas Leu, New York University
Nouman Malkawi, University of Nanates
Franc Marusic, Univerza v Novi Gorici
Karen Miller, Calvin College
Alan Munn, Michigan State University
Ad Neeleman, University College London
György Rákosi, University of Debrecen
Cristina Schmitt, Michigan State University
Patricia Schneider-Zioga, CSU Fullerton
Carson Schütze, University of California, Los Angeles
Heather Lee Taylor, University of Maryland
Jill de Villiers, Smith College
Xioafei Zhang, Michigan State University