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Extending prior work in Graf (2018, 2020, 2022c), I show that movement is tier-based strictly local (TSL) even if one analyzes it as a transformation, i.e. a tree transduction from derivation trees to output trees. I define input strictly local (ISL) tree-to-tree transductions with (lexical) TSL tests as a tier-based extension of ISL tree-to-tree transductions. TSL tests allow us to attach each mover to all its landing sites. In general, this class of transductions fails to attach each mover to its final landing site to the exclusion of all its intermediate landing sites, which is crucial for producing output trees with the correct string yield. The problem is avoided, though, if syntax enforces a variant of the Ban on Improper Movement. Subregular complexity thus provides a novel motivation for core restrictions on movement while also shedding new light on the choice between copies and traces in syntax.
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Monotonicity in Syntax
Extending previous work on monotonicity in morphology and morphosyntax, I argue that some of the most important constraints in syntax can be analyzed in terms of monotonic functions that map specific kinds of syntactic representations to fixed, universal hierarchies. I cover the Ban Against Improper Movement, the Williams Cycle, the Ban Against Improper Case, and omnivorous number. The general method of analysis is remarkably similar across all phenomena, which suggests that monotonicity provides a unified perspective on a wide range of phenomena in syntax as well as morphology and morphosyntax. I also argue that syntax, thanks to extensive work in computational syntax, provides a unique opportunity to probe whether the prevalence of monotonicity principles in natural language is due to computational complexity considerations. Not only, then, is it possible to extend the purview of monotonicity from semantics to syntax, doing so might yield new insights into monotonicity that would not be obtainable otherwise.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1845344
- PAR ID:
- 10216899
- Editor(s):
- Deng, Dun; Liu, Fenrong; Liu, Mingming; Westerstahl, Dag
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Lecture Notes in Computer Science
- Volume:
- 12564
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 35-53
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62843-0_3
