TY  - BOOK
AU  - Ott,Dennis
TI  - Local Instability: Split Topicalization and Quantifier Float in German 
T2  - Linguistische Arbeiten ,
SN  - 9783110290370
PY  - 2012///]
CY  - Berlin, Boston : 
PB  - De Gruyter, 
KW  - Asymmetry
KW  - Movement
KW  - Quantifier Float
KW  - Split Topicalization
KW  - Syntax
KW  - FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY / German
KW  - bisacsh
N1  - Diss; Frontmatter --; 0 Acknowledgments --; Contents --; 1 Introduction: Aims and Scope --; 2 Split Topics: Empirical Properties and Theoretical Problems --; 3 The Syntax of Split Topics: A Novel Approach --; 4 An Extension to Quantifer Float --; 5 Conclusion and Outlook --; References --; Index; restricted access; Issued also in print
N2  - This monograph argues for a novel approach to split topicalization and quantifier float in German, based on the premise that syntactic structure-building proceeds solely via free application of Merge. Following recent developments in the pursuit of a more principled theory of syntax, it is argued that the stipulative notion of ‘projection’ ought to be dispensed with: syntactic objects created by Merge are not headed, and endocentricity arises due to a simple search algorithm. When this algorithm fails, specifically in symmetric {XP,YP} structures, an unlabeled constituent results; where a label is required, such structures are locally unstable. It is argued that both split topics and floated quantifiers are the result of this kind of local instability: when an exocentric predication structure is merged in argument or adjunct position, XP must be displaced at the phase level to allow for determination of a label. It is this symmetry-breaking movement that yields the ‘split constituent’ in surface form. Based on careful empirical scrutiny of two recalcitrant problems for syntactic theory, the present work adduces substantial support for a ‘minimalist’ grammatical architecture devoid of phrase-structural residue
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110290950
UR  - https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9783110290950
UR  - https://www.degruyter.com/document/cover/isbn/9783110290950/original
ER  -