Why movement comes for free once you have adjunction
Thomas Graf
April 2018
 

This paper presents a novel answer to the question why Move might be an integral part of language. The answer is rooted in the computational framework of subregular complexity, which has already been fruitfully applied to phonology. The computational perspective reveals that Merge belongs to the class TSL (tier-based strictly local) if the grammar also allows for recursive adjunction. Any cognitive device that can handle this level of computational complexity also possesses all the resources that are needed for Move. In fact, Merge and Move are remarkably similar when viewed as instances of TSL. Consequently, Move has no additional computational or conceptual cost attached to it and comes essentially for free. I am currently working on an expanded, more accessible version that is to be submitted to a journal. All feedback on the proceedings version is greatly appreciated.
Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/003943
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Proceedings of CLS 2017
keywords: move, adjunction, minimalist grammars, subregular complexity, tier-based strictly local, syntax
previous versions: v2 [April 2018]
v1 [March 2018]
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