Genitive of Negation in Polish and Single-Cycle Derivations

This paper is inspired by the discussion of Genitive of Negation in Bondaruk (2004, 2005) and by an observation made in Błaszczak (2001) that, on the basis of examples such as (7) below, a construction known as Long Distance Genitive of Negation (GoN) in Polish is essentially entirely incompatible with Chomsky’s (2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007) hypotheses concerning derivations proceeding in phases. We will present general conditions which a system based on single cycle syntax and phase-based derivations should meet to account for Long Distance GoN. We attempt to work Błaszczak’s critique of phase-based minimalism into a more positive set of postulates for a successful single cycle system.

Another aim of this paper is to present and compare two minimalist accounts of the Genitive of Negation in Polish, the one discussed in Bondaruk (2004, 2005) and the one suggested here. First, we provide the basic set of facts that warrants the analyses that follow and refer to theoretical foundations that lead to Błaszczak’s observation. In section 3 we outline the proposal in Bondaruk (2004) and explore its virtues and weaker points. In section 4 we propose an alternative, preferable on both conceptual and empirical grounds, which is based on the notion of double probing: a relation between a single (or multiple Goal) and a double Probe, that is a Probe that consists of two adjacent heads rather than a single head. The key condition on double probing is that both Probes must be placed in the same derivational phase and no intervention effect should arise. Finally, the appendix presents a critical review of the HPSG approach to GoN proposed in Przepiórkowski 2000.