Get Giuseppe Longobardi, Reference And Proper Names: A Theory Of N-movement In Syntax And Logical Form

In the course of this term paper I will analyze three kinds of syntactic movements, which will be the Head Movement, Argument Movement and the Wh-Movement. Initially I will defer to basic knowledge such as Feature Checking, Merge and C-Command since these operations are the basis of syntactic comprehension.

The movement types that are primarily discussed are these: ω/ί-movement at S-structure, scrambling, dative movement, wh- movement at LF, and topicalization. These kinds of Α-bar movement behave similarly with respect to some properties, but differ substantially with re- spect to others.

Syntactic movement is the means by which some theories of syntax address discontinuities. Movement was first postulated by structuralist linguists who expressed it in terms of discontinuous constituents or displacement.

Movement structure is a type of linguistic structure in which a syntactic unit occurs in a position that is distinct from its expected "base" or "logical" position. Modern linguistic theories, especially Generative-Transformational Grammar, argue that part of a speaker's linguistic knowledge is that movement structur…

- A-movement. Non-argument movement (A-bar movement or A'-movement), in contrast, displaces a phrase into a position where a fixed grammatical function is not assigned, such as the movement of a subject or object NP to a pre-verbal position in interrogatives: a.

An approach that has occasionally been suggested is the “copy theory” of movement: the trace left behind is a copy of the moved element, deleted by principle of the PF component in the case of overt movement.

The A- vs. A-bar distinction is a reference to the theoretical status of syntax with respect to the lexicon. The distinction elevates the role of syntax by locating the theory of voice (active vs. passive) almost entirely in syntax (as opposed to in the lexicon).