Optionality in Optimality-Theoretic Syntax
نویسنده
چکیده
Pre-theoretically, we can conceive of syntactic optionality as a name for a situation in which different ways of saying what seems to be the same thing show a clear correspondence in form. Such a situation may or may not be problematic for a given syntactic theory. Classic transformational grammar of the sixties acknowledges syntactic optionality by introducing a distinction between obligatory and optional transformations. Instances of syntactic optionality can be traced back to transformations that apply optionally. Some typical instances of syntactic optionality are given in (1)–(6), together with an account in terms of classic transformational grammar. First, English complementizer drop is optional in declarative object clauses (embedded by bridge verbs):
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