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VERB‐SECOND AND THE A‐BAR SYNTAX OF SUBJECTS
Author(s) -
Branigan Philip
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
studia linguistica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.187
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1467-9582
pISSN - 0039-3193
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9582.1996.tb00343.x
Subject(s) - verb , predicate (mathematical logic) , linguistics , recursion (computer science) , syntax , subject (documents) , reflexive verb , nominative case , computer science , mathematics , modal verb , philosophy , algorithm , library science , programming language
. Two competing theories of verb‐second clause structure are compared, and their relative merits are identified. A synthesis of the two theories is proposed, wherein the position occupied by the subject in finite clauses in verb‐second Germanic languages is argued to be uniformly Spec‐C, in both verb‐second clauses and non‐verb second clauses. It is shown that this approach allows for a unified theory of Germanic verb‐second. The mechanisms which motivate subject movement for Spec‐C are elucidated, and the necessary accompanying constraints on CP‐recursion structures are presented. A revision of Holmberg's (1986) Predicate Principle is defended as the driving force for verb‐second head‐movement.