Merge and the Strong Minimalist Thesis

This Element is an accessible and up-to-date exploration of Merge, the central operation of the syntax.

Noam Chomsky (Author), T. Daniel Seely (Author), Robert C. Berwick (Author), Sandiway Fong (Author), M. A. C. Huybregts (Author), Hisatsugu Kitahara (Author), Andrew McInnerney (Author), Yushi Sugimoto (Author)

9781009343268, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 14 December 2023

88 pages
22.9 x 15.1 x 0.6 cm, 0.15 kg

The goal of this contribution to the Elements series is to closely examine Merge, its form, its function, and its central role in current linguistic theory. It explores what it does (and does not do), why it has the form it has, and its development over time. The basic idea behind Merge is quite simple. However, Merge interacts, in intricate ways, with other components including the language's interfaces, laws of nature, and certain language-specific conditions. Because of this, and because of its fundamental place in the human faculty of language, this Element's focus on Merge provides insights into the goals and development of generative grammar more generally, and its prospects for the future.

1. Introduction
2. Background: goals and orientation of the generative enterprise
3. The Form of Merge
4. Merge and the non-expansion of the WS
Restricting Resources/Minimal Yield
5. Language Specific Conditions on the Computational System for Human Language
6. Illustrations
7. On the history and development of Merge
8. Prospects for the Future.

Subject Areas: Grammar, syntax & morphology [CFK]