Where and Why are Labels Necessary?
Michael Barrie
April 2020
 

There has been considerable debate recently as to when labels are created and whether they’re necessary at all (Collins 2002). Chomsky has proposed that labels are necessary at LF only. Takita (2020) has argued that labels are necessary at PF only. I propose that labels are necessary at both interfaces. This explains why movement for labelling takes place overtly, as noted by Ott (2015) and Moro (2009). I illustrate the necessity of labels for Pseudo Noun Incorporation (PNI) in three languages. Specifically, I argue that labels are necessary to identify the category selected by the verb in PNI. Some languages select a bare nP, while other select a bare NumP. Finally, I combine these observations with Wiltschko’s theory of number. The observed properties of PNI fall out from Wiltschko’s theory, but only if we assume labels are formed in the overt syntax.
Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/005872
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Studies in Generative Grammar (생성문법연구) 2021: 31(1): 25-52
keywords: labels, movement, pseudo noun incorporation, number, hindi, niuean, nepali, syntax
Downloaded:221 times

 

[ edit this article | back to article list ]