Imperfect Checking

This article presents a unified solution to two long-standing problems concerning successive cyclicity. First, under the minimalist program of Chomsky (1995), a trigger for successive-cyclic wh-movement to [–wh] SpecC positions must be identified. Second, as noted by den Besten & Webelhuth (1990), there is a strict prohibition against unbound intermediate traces that result from a combination of successivecyclic wh-movement and remnant topicalization in German. The key proposal of this article is a new concept of “imperfect checking” of [+wh] and [–wh] features, which triggers successive-cyclic wh-movement. Moreover, as a parametrized reflex of successive cyclicity, extraposition can be forced. Obligatory extraposition accounts for the prohibition against unbound intermediate traces (via the strict cycle, economy, and general properties of features). In addition, the theory of imperfect checking yields interesting consequences for partial wh-movement and infinitives in German.