Reconstruction (Syntax) - Revision history

Haspelmath at 12:15, 21 February 2009

2009-02-21T12:15:42Z

Haspelmath at 12:14, 21 February 2009

2009-02-21T12:14:54Z

Wohlgemuth: New page: {{stub}} '''Reconstruction''' is operation proposed in Chomsky (1977b) in the derivation of LF from S-structure, which returns material pied-piped by wh-movement to th...

2009-02-20T15:02:27Z

New page: {{stub}} '''Reconstruction''' is operation proposed in Chomsky (1977b) in the derivation of LF from S-structure, which returns material pied-piped by wh-movement to th...

New page

{{stub}}

'''Reconstruction''' is operation proposed in Chomsky (1977b) in the [[derivation]] of [[LF]] from [[S-structure]], which returns material [[pied-piped]] by [[wh-movement]] to the extraction site so as to derive an [[operator]]-variable chain headed by the wh-operator itself.

=== Example ===

by reconstruction, the LF (i)b is derived from the SS (i)a:

(i) a which book about Mary does he like t
b which x, does he like [ x book about Mary ]

As a result, interpretation of the LF is relatively straightforward. Syntactic evidence for reconstruction comes from the behavior of pied-piped material with respect to binding theory. EXAMPLE: in (ii),

(ii) which book about himself does John like t

the [[anaphor]] ''himself'' can apparently be [[bound]] by the NP ''John'', which does not, however, [[c-command]] it at SS. This can be explained if the constituent containing the anaphor is returned to its pre-movement position prior to the operation of binding condition A. Other analyses of such "reconstruction phenomena" can involve an extended notion of c-command, a reordering of the model of grammar (van Riemsdijk & Williams 1981), or a view of movement as copying and deletion (Chomsky 1992).

=== Links ===

[http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Reconstruction&lemmacode=317 Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]

=== References ===

* Chomsky, N. 1993. ''A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory,'' MIT occasional papers in linguistics, 1-67. Reprinted in: Chomsky (1995).
* Chomsky, N. 1977b. ''On Wh-movement,'' in: P.W. Culicover, T. Wasw and A. akmajian (eds.) Formal syntax, Academic Press, San Francisco, London.
* Riemsdijk, H. van and E. Williams 1986. ''Introduction to the theory of grammar,'' MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
* Williams, E. 1994. ''Thematic structure in syntax,'' The MIT Press:Cambridge, Mass.

{{dc}}
[[Category:Syntax]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{stub}}
-In generative syntax, '''reconstruction''' is operation proposed in Chomsky (1977b) in the [[derivation]] of [[LF]] from [[S-structure]], which returns material [[pied piping|pied-piped]] by [[wh-movement]] to the extraction site so as to derive an [[operator]]-variable chain headed by the wh-operator itself.
+In generative syntax, '''reconstruction''' is an operation proposed in Chomsky (1977b) in the [[derivation]] of [[LF]] from [[S-structure]], which returns material [[pied piping|pied-piped]] by [[wh-movement]] to the extraction site so as to derive an [[operator]]-variable chain headed by the wh-operator itself.
 === Example ===

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{stub}}
-'''Reconstruction''' is operation proposed in Chomsky (1977b) in the [[derivation]] of [[LF]] from [[S-structure]], which returns material [[pied-piped]] by [[wh-movement]] to the extraction site so as to derive an [[operator]]-variable chain headed by the wh-operator itself.
+In generative syntax, '''reconstruction''' is operation proposed in Chomsky (1977b) in the [[derivation]] of [[LF]] from [[S-structure]], which returns material [[pied piping|pied-piped]] by [[wh-movement]] to the extraction site so as to derive an [[operator]]-variable chain headed by the wh-operator itself.
 === Example ===
-by reconstruction, the LF (i)b is derived from the SS (i)a:
+By reconstruction, the LF (i)b is derived from the SS (i)a:
   (i) a  which book about Mary does he like t
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 * Chomsky, N. 1993. ''A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory,'' MIT occasional papers in linguistics, 1-67. Reprinted in: Chomsky (1995).
 * Chomsky, N. 1977b. ''On Wh-movement,'' in: P.W. Culicover, T. Wasw and A. akmajian (eds.) Formal syntax, Academic Press, San Francisco, London.
-* Riemsdijk, H. van and E. Williams 1986. ''Introduction to the theory of grammar,'' MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
+* van Riemsdijk, H. and E. Williams 1986. ''Introduction to the theory of grammar,'' MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
 * Williams, E. 1994. ''Thematic structure in syntax,'' The MIT Press:Cambridge, Mass.
 {{dc}}
 [[Category:Syntax]]