Superiority Effects in Minimalism: A Case Study of a-Movement

Abstract

I would like to thank three anonymous EL reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on earlier versions of this paper, which have substantially improved the paper. I am also indebted to my native informants for their judgments and stylistic suggestions. As always, all remaining errors and inadequacies are mine. This paper considers the Strong Minimalist Thesis proposed in Minimalist theory with a case study of superiority effects in A-movement. Given this thesis, Merge applies freely in syntax, which suggests that an NP can move over another NP. We argue that in derivations which result in superiority violations, Case features are transferred to the interfaces unvalued, claiming that interface conditions, not minimality, are responsible for the superiority effects. We also discuss two predictions of the proposed analysis, arguing that they are theoretically and empirically endorsed. Through our discussion, we show that syntax is only extrasyntactically constrained, concluding that language is perfectly designed.*