- Dynamic antisymmetry by Andrea Moro
In this novel approach to the motivation for movement in natural languages, Moro’s main claim is that two of the most fundamental properties of human language, displacement (‘movement’) and (phrase) structure, are not independent properties, as commonly assumed, but that ‘movement is triggered by the geometry of phrase structure’ (2). The 1990s have seen a resurgent interest in the nature of the displacement property. Two major contributions to the principles and parameters theory are responsible for this development. On one hand, Noam Chomsky’s The minimalist program (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995) sketches a framework in which all movement is driven by some licensing condition, expressed in terms of feature-checking. Richard Kayne’s The antisymmetry of syntax (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994), on the other hand, is based on a universal base hypothesis under which all phrases are not only binary- but also right-branching: Heads always precede their complements, specifiers always precede the head, and specifiers are unique (i.e. the distinction between them and adjuncts is dispensed with). Movement in this model is the result of antisymmetry relations in phrase structure (i.e. in order to derive linear ordering, all elements in a phrase marker must stand in asymmetric c-command relations to each other). The linear correspondence axiom (LCA) maps hierarchical relations in the phrase marker into the desired linear precedence. M adopts a weaker version of the antisymmetry model, one that says that ‘the LCA is active only when needed—namely, at the interface with the articulatory-perceptual component (PF), where linearization of words into a sequence is required by definition’ (2). M’s framework thus does not rule out symmetrical structural relations a priori. Rather, M views ‘movement . . . as a way to rescue the structure at PF in case a point of symmetry has been generated’ (3). In his ‘Introduction’ (1–3), M outlines the background to his study and sketches the contents of the book, which develops the model he coins ‘dynamic antisymmetry’ (DA). Ch. 1, ‘Theories of movement’ (5–14), is a longer version of the synopsis offered above. In Ch. 2, ‘Movement as a symmetry-breaking phenomenon’ (15–29), M illustrates the conceptual part of his theory and how it fits in with an antisymmetric approach to phrase structure.
Ch. 3, ‘Sources of symmetry’ (31–94), discusses the empirical significance of DA. M first discusses potential symmetrical structures that need to be fixed. It turns out that there are three such relations (italicized): (1) [XP YP ZP], (2) [XP YP [XP ZP XP]], and (3) [XP X0 Y0]. Focusing on data from Italian and English, M offers insightful analyses of empirical representatives for each of these three structures that fit into the DA model—bare small clauses (copular sentences, but also wh-phrases as predicates) representing 1, multiple specifier constructions (wh-movement and extraction, rightward agreement in Italian) representing 2, and head-head structures (clitics) representing 3. In Ch. 4, M offers ‘Some consequences and speculations’ (95–101) for and about DA.
The book ends with an appendix, ‘Elements of copular syntax’ (103–13), in which M summarizes his previous work in this area, framing it in a DA-relevant perspective. As speculative and sketchy as this book is at times, certainly regarding the empirical base of the DA model, it has a lot to offer. DA makes [End Page 662] for a novel and highly interesting proposal even if only seen as a stubborn pursuit of an intriguing question—intriguing it certainly is! This monograph is a must-read for all theoreticians and can comfortably be recommended to anyone interested in current issues within the principles and parameters theory.