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Freezing, Topic Opacity and Phase-based Cyclicity in Subject Islands

Evidence from Hungarian
  • Balázs Surányi and Gergő Turi
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Freezing
This chapter is in the book Freezing

Abstract

This paper reports on an acceptability rating study of long wh-extraction from transitive and unaccusative subjects and objects in Hungarian, designed to test the predictions of competing etiologies of the islandhood of subjects. It is found that the (im)permeability of the three types of NP arguments tested is determined by their base position, and it remains unaffected by syntactic movement to a topic position. These findings cast doubt on the feasibility of monolithic accounts that propose to explain the islandhood of subjects as a case of ‘freezing by movement’, or as a case of ‘topic opacity’. Our results provide striking support for Chomsky’s (2008) phase-based approach to cyclicity, according to which licit wh-subextractions can proceed from the base copy of topicalized NPs, while constituents in phase edges, such as the occurrence of an external argument subject in the edge of vP, are impenetrable. We argue that in argument topicalization ‘topic opacity’ precludes subextractions from the occurrence of the argument in the topic position, but not from the copy in its base position. The general opacity of arguments undergoing topic fronting in English and German stems from the fact that in these languages a left-peripheral topic creates a topic-island for long subextractions launched from within the base copy of topicalized phrases.

Abstract

This paper reports on an acceptability rating study of long wh-extraction from transitive and unaccusative subjects and objects in Hungarian, designed to test the predictions of competing etiologies of the islandhood of subjects. It is found that the (im)permeability of the three types of NP arguments tested is determined by their base position, and it remains unaffected by syntactic movement to a topic position. These findings cast doubt on the feasibility of monolithic accounts that propose to explain the islandhood of subjects as a case of ‘freezing by movement’, or as a case of ‘topic opacity’. Our results provide striking support for Chomsky’s (2008) phase-based approach to cyclicity, according to which licit wh-subextractions can proceed from the base copy of topicalized NPs, while constituents in phase edges, such as the occurrence of an external argument subject in the edge of vP, are impenetrable. We argue that in argument topicalization ‘topic opacity’ precludes subextractions from the occurrence of the argument in the topic position, but not from the copy in its base position. The general opacity of arguments undergoing topic fronting in English and German stems from the fact that in these languages a left-peripheral topic creates a topic-island for long subextractions launched from within the base copy of topicalized phrases.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. Exploring the concepts of Freezing: Theoretical and empirical perspectives 1
  4. Part I: Theoretical advancement
  5. Criterial Freezing in small clauses and the cartography of copular constructions 29
  6. Freezing Effects in a free-Merge System 66
  7. Freezing in complex prefields 105
  8. Part II: Empirical domains
  9. The Freezing points of the (Dutch) adjectival system 143
  10. Freezing in it-clefts: Movement and focus 195
  11. Criterial Freezing in the syntax of particles 225
  12. Only syntax 264
  13. Freezing and phi-feature agreement: On the role of [PERSON] 284
  14. Freezing, Topic Opacity and Phase-based Cyclicity in Subject Islands 317
  15. Part III: Interface extensions
  16. Freezing: Between grammar and processing 353
  17. Heavy NP shift in context: On the interaction of information structure and subextraction from shifted constituents 387
  18. Freezing as a probabilistic phenomenon 403
  19. An experimental study on freezing and topicalization in English 430
  20. Index 451
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501504266-010

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. Exploring the concepts of Freezing: Theoretical and empirical perspectives 1
  4. Part I: Theoretical advancement
  5. Criterial Freezing in small clauses and the cartography of copular constructions 29
  6. Freezing Effects in a free-Merge System 66
  7. Freezing in complex prefields 105
  8. Part II: Empirical domains
  9. The Freezing points of the (Dutch) adjectival system 143
  10. Freezing in it-clefts: Movement and focus 195
  11. Criterial Freezing in the syntax of particles 225
  12. Only syntax 264
  13. Freezing and phi-feature agreement: On the role of [PERSON] 284
  14. Freezing, Topic Opacity and Phase-based Cyclicity in Subject Islands 317
  15. Part III: Interface extensions
  16. Freezing: Between grammar and processing 353
  17. Heavy NP shift in context: On the interaction of information structure and subextraction from shifted constituents 387
  18. Freezing as a probabilistic phenomenon 403
  19. An experimental study on freezing and topicalization in English 430
  20. Index 451
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