Understanding Minimalist Syntax: Lessons from Locality in Long-Distance Dependencies

Understanding Minimalist Syntax introduces the logic of the minimalist program by analyzing well-known descriptive generalizations about long-distance dependencies, and asks why they should be true of natural languages. This text proposes a new theory of how long-distance dependencies are formed, with implications for theories of locality, and the minimalist program as a whole.

Experts working in the field will appreciate its rich empirical coverage, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students will find it an accessible introduction to the minimalist program.

Cedric Boeckx is Assistant Professor of Linguistics and a member of the Mind/Brain/Behavior Interfaculty Initiative at Harvard University. He is the author of Islands and Chains (2003), Linguistic Minimalism (2006), and numerous articles in journals such as Linguistic Inquiry and Natural Language and Linguistic Theory.