Relativizing Minimality for A-movement: φ- and θ-relations

Abstract

This paper discusses two arguments raised against Hornstein's (Linguistic Inquiry 30: 69–96, 1999, Move! A minimalist theory of construal, Blackwell, 2001) Movement Theory of Control (MTC): Landau's (Linguistic Inquiry 34: 471–498, 2003) contrast between raising and passivized subject control predicates and Culicover and Jackendoff's (Linguistic Inquiry 30: 483–512, 2001) contrast between control and raising within nominals. I show that rather than counter-arguments, the data they present can actually be analyzed as arguments in favor of the MTC. More specifically, I argue that the puzzling contrasts discussed by these authors can be adequately accounted for within the MTC if minimality computations regarding A-movement are relativized in terms of φ- or θ-relations.