Gereon Müller | Universität Leipzig (original) (raw)

Papers by Gereon Müller

Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 1995

... 13 An analogous situation arises with complex NPs, as in (33): (33) a. John's fear [cp .... more ... 13 An analogous situation arises with complex NPs, as in (33): (33) a. John's fear [cp ... argument extractions from adjunct clauses are more ungrammatical than a mere subjacency analysis would ... Argument clauses always appear as NPs, whereas adjunct clauses seem to be PPs ...

This paper argues for Remove as a mirror image of Merge, based on evidence from passive, applicat... more This paper argues for Remove as a mirror image of Merge, based on evidence from passive, applicative, restructuring and complex prefields in German.

This paper presents an alternative to relativized minimality-based accounts of intervention effects.

Language 89 (2013)

In the present study we investigate the relevance of the concept of underspecified inflection mar... more In the present study we investigate the relevance of the concept of underspecified inflection markers for the processing of language in the human brain. Our findings strongly support underspecification: An ERP-component related to morpho-syntactic integration (viz., left anterior negativity; LAN) was modulated by violations of Specificity versus Compatibility.

The variable degree to which idioms can successfully be targeted by syntactic operations (`transf... more The variable degree to which idioms can successfully be targeted by syntactic operations (`transformational deficiency') follows from harmonic alignment of independently established scales (of idiom opacity, and of operation types).

Books by Gereon Müller

In this monograph, I show how backtracking problems with various kinds of movement that necessari... more In this monograph, I show how backtracking problems with various kinds of movement that necessarily arise in a phase-based approach to syntax can be solved by adopting the concept of a syntactic buffer. Buffers are identified with the values of movement-related features (like [wh], [rel], [top]), which are conceived of as lists of symbols (rather than atomic symbols, as standardly assumed).

Drafts by Gereon Müller

In this article, I pursue two main goals. First, I argue for a new empirical generalization: An e... more In this article, I pursue two main goals. First, I argue for a new empirical generalization: An external argument in German passive constructions (DP ext) is accessible from positions below it but inaccessible from positions above it. And second, I present a new theory of passivization from which this generalization can be derived: I suggest that an elementary operation Remove should be postulated in phase-based minimalist syntax that is the complete mirror image of Merge in that it triggers structure removal rather than structure building, and that obeys exactly the same restrictions (with respect to triggers, strict cyclicity, etc.). Remove provides a principled approach to conflicting structure assignment and reanalysis in general, with short life cycle effects (derivable from strict cyclicity) at its core.

In the complex prefield construction in German, it looks as though more than one constituent can ... more In the complex prefield construction in German, it looks as though more than one constituent can occupy the position in front of the finite verb in declarative root clauses. Two kinds of analysis can be found in the literature: In one approach, there are indeed multiple constituents in the SpecC domain; in another approach, complex prefields are in fact single VP constituents lacking an overt V head. I argue that there is empirical evidence for both views. I develop a derivational, minimalist analysis based on an independently motivated operation Remove that is the exact counterpart of the operation Merge (Chomsky (2001)), and that I take to underlie various constructions that demand conflicting structure assignments. On this view, complex prefields involve both simple VPs (at early stages of the derivation) and multiple constituents (after removal of the VP projection has taken place).

Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 1995

... 13 An analogous situation arises with complex NPs, as in (33): (33) a. John's fear [cp .... more ... 13 An analogous situation arises with complex NPs, as in (33): (33) a. John's fear [cp ... argument extractions from adjunct clauses are more ungrammatical than a mere subjacency analysis would ... Argument clauses always appear as NPs, whereas adjunct clauses seem to be PPs ...

This paper argues for Remove as a mirror image of Merge, based on evidence from passive, applicat... more This paper argues for Remove as a mirror image of Merge, based on evidence from passive, applicative, restructuring and complex prefields in German.

This paper presents an alternative to relativized minimality-based accounts of intervention effects.

Language 89 (2013)

In the present study we investigate the relevance of the concept of underspecified inflection mar... more In the present study we investigate the relevance of the concept of underspecified inflection markers for the processing of language in the human brain. Our findings strongly support underspecification: An ERP-component related to morpho-syntactic integration (viz., left anterior negativity; LAN) was modulated by violations of Specificity versus Compatibility.

The variable degree to which idioms can successfully be targeted by syntactic operations (`transf... more The variable degree to which idioms can successfully be targeted by syntactic operations (`transformational deficiency') follows from harmonic alignment of independently established scales (of idiom opacity, and of operation types).

In this monograph, I show how backtracking problems with various kinds of movement that necessari... more In this monograph, I show how backtracking problems with various kinds of movement that necessarily arise in a phase-based approach to syntax can be solved by adopting the concept of a syntactic buffer. Buffers are identified with the values of movement-related features (like [wh], [rel], [top]), which are conceived of as lists of symbols (rather than atomic symbols, as standardly assumed).

In this article, I pursue two main goals. First, I argue for a new empirical generalization: An e... more In this article, I pursue two main goals. First, I argue for a new empirical generalization: An external argument in German passive constructions (DP ext) is accessible from positions below it but inaccessible from positions above it. And second, I present a new theory of passivization from which this generalization can be derived: I suggest that an elementary operation Remove should be postulated in phase-based minimalist syntax that is the complete mirror image of Merge in that it triggers structure removal rather than structure building, and that obeys exactly the same restrictions (with respect to triggers, strict cyclicity, etc.). Remove provides a principled approach to conflicting structure assignment and reanalysis in general, with short life cycle effects (derivable from strict cyclicity) at its core.

In the complex prefield construction in German, it looks as though more than one constituent can ... more In the complex prefield construction in German, it looks as though more than one constituent can occupy the position in front of the finite verb in declarative root clauses. Two kinds of analysis can be found in the literature: In one approach, there are indeed multiple constituents in the SpecC domain; in another approach, complex prefields are in fact single VP constituents lacking an overt V head. I argue that there is empirical evidence for both views. I develop a derivational, minimalist analysis based on an independently motivated operation Remove that is the exact counterpart of the operation Merge (Chomsky (2001)), and that I take to underlie various constructions that demand conflicting structure assignments. On this view, complex prefields involve both simple VPs (at early stages of the derivation) and multiple constituents (after removal of the VP projection has taken place).