Aspects of the syntax of (TP-)Coordination, Across-the-Board extraction and Parasitic Gaps.

Abstract

In this dissertation I investigate aspects of the syntax of sentential coordination, Across-the-Board extraction, and Parasitic Gap constructions, as well as their implications for our understanding of the language faculty. I first argue that the analysis of coordinate and subordinate structures should be unified in terms of their syntax. More specifically, I argue that in coordinate structures in which two TPs are coordinated, non-first conjuncts are adjoined to the vP, as is commonly assumed for adverbial clauses. I also argue against the traditional distinction between coordination and subordination and propose that any differences in the grammatical behavior of these constructions should be reduced to the individual lexical properties of their conjunctions. As in any version of the adjunction analysis of coordination (see Munn 1993), we find a partial redundancy between two different principles of the narrow syntax: the Coordinate Structure Constraint and the Condition on Extraction Domains. I explore this redundancy and argue that the former should not be maintained as a principle of the narrow syntax. I provide further evidence that the syntax does allow extraction from a first conjunct, although it is then ruled out in the semantics by the LF Parallelism Requirement (Hornstein and Nunes 2002). I then revise the LF Parallelism Requirement and argue, based on data from Spanish, that conjuncts require parallelism regarding linear order at PF as well. Finally, I argue that the analysis of Across-the-Board and Parasitic Gap constructions should be unified in terms of Sideward Movement (see Nunes 2001, 2004). I provide further evidence for this approach here based on (the absence of) Weak Crossover, of which I propose a new formulation. I also take the absence of Weak Crossover as the basis for extending the Sideward Movement analysis to other cases of movement.