Ángel J. Gallego

Autonomous University of Barcelona | UAB · Departamento de Filología Española

introduction to a forthcoming edited volume

This paper revisits the study of linguistic variation within the Government and Binding approach to parameters, pointing out some limitations of parameter schemata in language contact scenarios. Discussion is focused on the possibility that clustering effects (the schemata themselves) are more complex than conventional approaches suggest. We outlin...

Resumen La gramática de la subordinación es una de las áreas más complejas de la gramática del español que los profesores de enseñanza secundaria tienen que explicar en las aulas. En este artículo se explica el análisis de la subordinación y, en concreto, de la subordinación adverbial en la Nueva gramática de la lengua española y el Glosario de té...

Here we consider some well-known facts in syntax from a physics perspective, allowing us to establish analogies between both fields with many consequences. Mainly, we observe that the operation MERGE, put forward by Chomsky (in: Evolution and Revolution in Linguistic Theory, Essays in honor of Carlos Otero., eds. Hector Campos and Paula Kempchinsky...

Este trabajo aborda la utilidad, la validez y el uso de varias nociones gramaticales, casi todas sintácticas. Nuestro objetivo es evaluar si algunos conceptos frecuentes en las asignaturas de lengua de secundaria y bachillerato deberían ser reemplazados por otros, o bien debería modificarse en alguna medida el contenido que actualmente se les otorg...

Introducción al monográfico

This paper discusses a series of morpho-syntactic properties of Romance languages that have the functional projection vP as its locus, showing a continuum that goes from strongly configurational Romance languages to partially configurational Romance languages. It is argued that v-related phenomena like Differential Object Marking (DOM), participial...

Este trabalho fornece um resumo geral de algumas das questões atuais no campo da Gramática Gerativa, o estudo da Faculdade da Linguagem humana. Revisamos algumas das ideias-chave que essa abordagem da linguagem propõe e desenvolve, concentrando-se nas propriedades básicas da linguagem e suas interações com outros sistemas. Também apontamos algumas...

Este trabajo proporciona un resumen general de algunos de los problemas actuales en el campo de la Gramática Generativa, el estudio de la facultad humana del lenguaje. Revisamos algunas ideas clave que este enfoque del lenguaje ha propuesto y desarrollado, centrándonos en las propiedades básicas del lenguaje y sus interacciones con otros sistemas....

This paper argues that NP subjects are not Case-licensed through Nominative in languages of the Spanish type. We put forward the idea that subjects can be licensed by other surface structure-based strategies, which could in turn account for many of the properties displayed by null subject languages. The scenario we sketch does not question Chomsky'...

En este trabajo planteamos una discusión sobre las unidades de análisis sintáctico y su adecuación a la enseñanza de la gramática en los niveles de educación preuniversitaria, intentando subrayar las limitaciones de enfoques meramente rotulistas. Dividiremos esas unidades en cuatro grupos, todos referidos a su papel en tales estadios educativos en...

Aquest treball proporciona una visió general dels aspectes clau actuals en el camp de la gramàtica generativa: l’estudi de la facultat del llenguatge humà. Es tractaran algunes de les visions a què aquest enfocament del llenguatge ha donat lloc, incloent-hi èxits importants en la comprensió de les propietats bàsiques del llenguatge i les seves inte...

This paper offers an analysis of clitic clusters in Spanish, Catalan and Aragonese following the Distinctness Condition proposed by Richards (2010)

Cambridge Core - Cognition - Language, Syntax, and the Natural Sciences - edited by Ángel J. Gallego

This paper reconsiders so-called freezing effects within Chomsky’s (2004 and sub.) Phase Theory. I argue that freezing (or halting) should not be seen as the consequence of an exocentric {XP,YP} structure in which the heads of XP and YP share some feature (cf. Chomsky 2013, 2015) or as the invisibility of X’ projections (cf. Rizzi 2015). Instead, I...

Aquest treball ofereix una revisió crítica de les anomenades competències, presents en diferents textos oficials, la funció és la de determinar quins aspectes d'una matèria han de ser assimilats, desenvolupats i aplicats pels estudiants. Es destaquen aquí la redundància i la vaguetat d'algunes formulacions oficials de l'anomenada "competència en co...

This paper puts forward an account of the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) based on Chomsky's (2013, 2015) Labeling Theory. Departing from Chomsky's (2015) proposal, which adopts “feature strength” (Chomsky 1993, 1995), it is suggested that the need for Spec,TP to be occupied by a DP can be attributed to labeling reasons, under the assumption th...

In this paper we consider some well-known facts in syntax from a physics perspective, which allows us to establish some remarkable equivalences. Specifically, we observe that the operation MERGE put forward by N. Chomsky in 1995 can be interpreted as a physical information coarse-graining. Thus, MERGE in linguistics entails information renormalizat...

This paper introduces a typology of grammar exercises that builds on that put forward in Bosque (2015b), to which we add some others. Both types of exercises are compared with the ones that are typically found in language textbooks in Spain, as well as in the university entrance exams (so-called Selectividad). In the following pages we contend that...

This paper introduces a typology of grammar exercises that builds on that put forward in Bosque (2015b), to which we add some others. Both types of exercises are compared with the ones that are typically found in language textbooks in Spain, as well as in the university entrance exams (so-called Selectividad). In the following pages we contend that...

RESuMEN En este trabajo introducimos una tipología de ejercicios de gramática que parte de la presentada en Bosque (2015b), a la que añadimos algunos tipos nuevos. Unos y otros se comparan aquí con los ejercicios que resultan más habituales en los libros de texto de lengua castellana y catalana en España, así como con los que suelen proponerse en l...

GOALS: (i) defend the hypothesis that estar = ser + (a terminal-coincidence) P (ii) argue that estar-licensing predicates are more complex than ser-licensing ones 1. Background (1) A customary assumption about predicates is that they come in stage level (SL) and individual level (IL) guises (see Carlson 1977 and Kratzer 1995). a. Obama {es/*está} a...

This paper puts forward an analysis of cliticization within the framework of phases (cf. Chomsky 2000 et seq.). In particular, it is argued that object clitics in Romance A-move as XPs to the v*P phase edge, adhering to standard locality constraints (the Phase Impenetrability Condition). The proposal is explored in the context of clitic climbing (a...

The ASinEs is an atlas-based application devoted to the study of the syntactic variation of Spanish geolects. This project is being developed in collaboration with the Centre de Lingüística Teòrica (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), the IKER Center at Bayonne (France), and the Real Academia Española.

This paper discusses agreement patterns of SE sentences in different Spanish dialects. Special attention is paid to situations where the verb agrees with Case-marked internal arguments (cf. Torrego 1998, López 2012) bypassing the preposition (e.g., Se ayudaron a los banqueros, Eng. 'Bankers were helped'), and to a previously unnoticed case in which...

El objetivo de este libro es proporcionar una visión actualizada de los estudios realizados sobre diversos fenómenos del ámbito de la sintaxis teórica en las últimas décadas. La obra pone, por tanto, especial énfasis en lo que serían "estados de la cuestión" sobre determinados fenómenos que implican el módulo sintáctico. Los cambios en la teoría s...

This paper introduces the ASinEs1, an atlas-based application devoted to the study of the syntactic variation of Spanish geolects. This project is groundbreaking, as there is no other atlas exclusively devoted to study the geolectal variation of geolectal variants of Spanish. Although ASinEs was originally conceived to explore the current geolects...

This paper puts forward an analysis of subjunctive dependent clauses in Iberian Romance based on Hornstein and Uriagereka's (2002) treatment of binary quantifiers. The main idea is that Chomsky's (2004) Transfer operation can be associated to the effect of these quantifiers; more specifically, it is argued that indicative mood, contrary to subjunct...

These pages introduce Isogloss, a journal devoted to the study of the variation of Romance and Iberian languages.

This paper discusses a series of morpho-syntactic (a)symmetries that emerge in the vP and CP levels of different Romance languages. The (a)symmetries considered indicate a P or D oriented nature for specific functional heads placed in the vP and CP domains, an idea that has been at the forefront of micro-parametric studies ever since the 80s (cf. K...

The volume is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Noam Chomsky's groundbreaking Aspects of the Theory of Syntax.

This chapter argues that the argument-taking properties of roots can be derived from Chomsky’s (2000, 2001) Probe–Goal system. If merged with n, roots become nouns (√DESTROY → destruction), which do not require an internal argument (e.g., destruction (of the city)); if merged with v, roots become verbs (√DESTROY → destroy, (√SING → sing), which do...

This paper argues that so-called subextraction (e.g., Whoi has John seen a picture of ti ?; cf. Corver 2006 for recent discussion) does not involve movement of a wh-phrase to a DP internal escape hatch position before reaching the CP layer. Instead, we claim that apparently subextracted wh-phrases are actually direct dependents of the verb after a...

In this article, we examine the current situation of studies that concentrate on the study of morphological variation in Spanish. We start discussing the place of morphology in current linguistic theory, and what its different aspects are, a question that is previous to the identification of the relevant phenomena. Section 2 provides an overview of...

This paper discusses a case of parametric variation between Catalan and Spanish that concerns the fronting possibilities within the CP domain (the so-called ÇLeft PeripheryÈ). In particular, attention is paid to Catalan’s weak left peripheral activity, which prevents it from generating sentences that involve a Çmild focalizationÈ pattern very commo...

This paper recasts Chomsky's (2007, 2008) Feature Inheritance, arguing that the syntactic relation between phase heads and non-phase heads must be regarded as that of identity: Non-phase heads are (copies of) phase heads. From this perspective, e.g., C and T are one and the very same unit in the lexicon, a unit that can (and sometimes must) undergo...

This paper discusses the properties of VOS sentences in Romance and their bearing on Case assignment, verb movement, parametric variation, and the structure of the vP periphery / low IP area. The literature on Romance VOS has argued that this order is derived either through object shift (Ordóñez 1997, 1998, 2000) or VP fronting (Belletti 2001, 2004...

This note considers some of the problems raised by so-called “cognate objects” in the light of Hale & Keyser’s (1993, 1997, 1998) analysis of unergative verbs, which involves incorporation of a noun occupying the internal argument position. Unless we assume that the cognate object is post-syntactically inserted in the internal argument position (wh...

This volume explores and develops the framework of phases (so-called Phase Theory), first introduced in Chomsky (2000). The antecedents of such framework go back to the well-known notion of “cycle”, which concerns broader notions, such as compositionality, locality, and economy conditions. Within generative grammar, this idea of the cycle took a co...

El movimiento de constituyentes explora uno de los fenómenos más característicos de las lenguas naturales: la posibilidad de que algunos elementos de la oración se interpreten simultáneamente en distintas posiciones sintácticas, pese a que su realización fonética solo está asociada a una de ellas. Para dar cuenta de este fenómeno, la gramática gene...

This paper studies the main properties of control from a minimalist perspective. After reviewing the possibility that control be analyzed as a case of raising (as argued for by Hornstein 1999 et seq.), I put forward an alternative account that takes obligatory control to obtain through Multiple Agree (pace Landau 1999, 2000), the controller (or ant...

  This paper discusses Chomsky’s (2008) phase-based analysis of the Subject Condition (where islandhood is regarded as a locality constraint on phase edges), paying particular attention to the claim that successive cyclic A-movement can be used to circumvent islandhood in ϕ-defective environments. Both hypotheses are considered in the context of Ro...

This paper explores the semantic and syntactic nature of traditional VP modifiers. In the first part of our study we argue in favor of adjuncts not having to undergo computational licensing, as a consequence of their particular phrase structure status (that is, the thesis that they occupy a separate plane; cf. (Chomsky 2004)). The remainder of the...

This paper studies the properties of a previously unnoticed passive construction found in some varieties of present day Spanish. Such construction, which we refer to as double passive (following NGRALE 2009), contains two adjacent passive complexes (Ese producto fue empezado a ser usado como conservante, Eng. That product was started to being used...

Este libro ofrece al lector un panorama de tipo descriptivo sobre las diversas manifestaciones de la elipsis gramatical. El trabajo resume los diferentes tratamientos teóricos de este fenómeno y presenta evidencia empírica a favor de aquellas propuestas en las que la elipsis se concibe como un proceso de borrado fonológico que deja intacta la estru...

This paper investigates the prepositional nature of non-finite verbal forms. Assuming well-known observations that relate the categories P and V on the one hand (see Chomsky 1970, 1981, Demirdache & Uribe-Etxebarria 2000, Hale & Keyser 2002, and Svenonius 2003, 2007, 2008, among others), and P and C on the other (see den Besten 1983, Emonds 1985, K...

This book draws together nine original investigations by leading linguists and promising young scholars on the syntax of complementisers (eg that in She said that she would) and their phrases. The chapters are divided into two parts, each of which highlights aspects of the behaviour and function of complementisers. The first part looks at how and w...

This book provides a detailed and up to date review of the framework of phases (Chomsky 2000 and subsequent work). It explores the interaction between the narrow syntactic computation and the external systems from a minimalist perspective. As has sometimes been noted, Phase Theory is the current way to study the cyclic nature of the system, and 'ph...

This paper discusses the nature of Rizzi�s (2006, 2007) Criterial Freezing, a mechanism yielding island effects on XPs moving into edge positions within the Left Periphery to satisfy dedicated �criteria.. Contrary to Rizzi�s (2006) feature checking implementation, it is claimed that freezing, as originally outlined in Chomsky (2000, 2001) Probe-Goa...

This paper investigates the status of linguistic variation within Minimalism, providing a phase-based account of some parametric asymmetries within Western Romance languages. The discussion focuses on the observation that parametric (i.e. 2 nd factor) concerns are typically ignored by minimalist theorizing, given the programmatic interest in the so...

This paper discusses Chomsky's (2000; 2001) notion of defectiveness and its consequences for different syntactic phenomena of the Case-agreement systems within the context of Phase Theory (see Chomsky 2000 and subsequent work). Particular attention will be paid to the status of defective T (T non selected by C, according to Chomsky 2000; 2001) in R...

In this note we review Juan Uriagereka's Pies y cabeza. Una introduccion a la sintaxis minimalista, the Spanish translation of Rhyme and reason. An introduction to minimalist syntax, a seminal and insightful exploration of the faculty of language that signaled a turning point for work not only on linguistics in general, but also on what has been re...

This paper discusses the morphological and syntactic properties in VOS sentences in Iberian Romance languages. In particular, it explores the possibility that VOS structures are derived through movement of the object to a specifier that c-commands the subject, which predicts a minimality configuration between C-T (the nominative Case Probe), the su...

This paper explores the relevance of the so-called Chomsky Hierarchy (ChH) when studying I-language phenomena, reinterpreting it in terms of the operation Merge. It is argued that all ChH levels of complexity discussed in Chomsky (1956) (i.e., finite state, phrase structure, and transformations) are present in the Faculty of Language, with (possibl...

The goal of this dissertation is to explore Chomsky's Phase Theory (see Chomsky 2000; 2001; 2004; 2005; 2007; to appear) and its connections with parametric variation. The study considers the hypothesis that syntactic computation operates through small derivational leaps (the phases), paying special attention to the Case/agreement systems, and the...

1. Introduction Den Dikken's paper (henceforth DD) explores an interesting alternative to Chomsky's conception of Phase Theory to account for different phenomena involving Predicate Inversion (PI). In particular, DD concentrates on cases of so-called copular, locative, and dative inversion (the respective instances in (1)): (1) a. The #1 best-selle...

The goal of this paper is to put forward an analysis of relative clauses which builds on Pesetsky & Torrego's (2001) proposal concerning the C-T connection and the nature of Case. In so doing, a unitary answer to two long-standing puzzles of the relative clause realm will be provided: the absence of both that-deletion and overt relative pronouns (u...

In this article we defend the principle of compositionality of complex expressions (i.e. the composition of the meaning of sentences based in the meanings of their lexical items (lexical semantics), and their syntactic structure. We argue that this assumption has important methodological implications: thus, the assumption of a strict compositionali...

In this paper I review different evidence suggesting that, in Null Subject Languages, T is endowed with what Chomsky (2005) calls edge features (i.e., the current term for the generalized EPP of Chomsky (2000)), and, consequently, becomes a strong phase head in those languages. Given that such a possibility is conceptually problematic (cf. Chomsky...

In this talk I discuss Hale & Keyser's (1993 and subseq.) hypothesis that the limits of argument structure follow from restrictions on X-bar templates -i.e. from unambiguous projection of complements and specifiers- in the context of Chomsky's Bare Phrase Structure (BPS). With Boeckx (2008a), I assume that Chomsky's BPS makes HK's pivotal claim vir...

(Spanish) be-IL/ SL.3.SG done put covered described '(S)he/It is done, put, covered, described,…' The contrast between (1) and (2) was already observed by (6), who capitalized on it to argue or the aspect generalization in (3): f (3) Aspect Generalization a. Imperfective (=IL) predicates select ser b. Perfective (=SL) predicates select estar Intere...

This paper explores the properties (and limits) of phrase structure from the point of view of the Minimalist Program, arguing, with (Uriagereka 2005), that there is a natural connection between it and the Chomsky Hierarchy (cf. (Chomsky 1956)). Under this scenario, it is discussed what the properties that current syntactic theorizing provides to st...