Rezac (2011)

• Rezac, M. 2011. ‘Building and interpreting a nonthematic A-position: A-resumption in English and Breton’, Alain Rouveret (éd.), Resumptive pronouns at the interfaces, Language faculty and beyond, Benjamins. 241-286.

manuscrit de 2008, (pdf)

extrait:

Rezac (2008:26) (texte original en anglais)

 summary:
 On recent views of movement and resumption, both Merge a DP in a nonthematic position and interpret it through a free variable. This predicts their symmetric distribution and the existence of resumption on the 'core' A-position of [Spec, TP], or A-resumption. It is argued that the prediction is correct, and mechanics are developed to build both movement and resumption by Merge, Agree, and the interpretation of nonthematic positions. A-resumption on [Spec, TP] falls into two types. When T participates in φ-Agree, the DP Merged in [Spec, TP] must be interpretively linked to the variable identified by φ-Agree. Locality tends to limit the goal to a domain where it must be a copy/gap for Case reasons, so the composition of Agree and Merge results in movement. However, when a finite TP boundary is penetrable to φ-Agree, there surfaces an A-resumption pattern constrained by the locality of φ-Agree, including the copy-raising of English The cati seems like iti's got Spiro's tongue.
 
 When T does not φ-Agree with a DP goal, the location of the variable interpreting [Spec, TP] is unconstrained. This is the situation in Breton, which allows A-resumption structures of the type The boati was shot at iti. The patterns of A-resumption restricted and unrestricted by φ-Agree match parallel patterns found in A'-resumption in recent work.