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Licensing Case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2006

Susi Wurmbrand
Susi Wurmbrand
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
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Abstract

This paper provides evidence that nominative arguments in German and Icelandic not only can be analyzed as remaining in the VP overtly, but that in some constructions these arguments remain internal to VP at all levels of representation, including LF. The paper reviews a variety of recent proposals for Case licensing and argues that only the Agree model (Chomsky 2000) provides for a unified account. Specifically, it is argued that languages such as German lack any syntactic or phonological requirement that SpecTP be filled (that is, the EPP is not universal). In addition, empirical arguments are provided against theories invoking Case transmission and null expletives. Although German lacks the EPP, arguments are also provided that German does have TP and related functional projections.I would like to thank Elena Anagnostopoulou, Jonathan Bobaljik, Željko Bošković, Christine Czinglar, Kleanthes Grohmann, Jóhannes Gísli Jónsson, Winnie Lechner, Friedrich Neubarth, David Pesetsky, Martin Prinzhorn, Norvin Richards, Uli Sauerland, Arnim von Stechow, Hubert Truckenbrodt, Martina Wiltschko, Leo Bobaljik Wurmbrand, Kazuko Yatsushiro, and two reviewers for discussions and comments on various parts of this paper. I am also grateful for the feedback from the audiences at WCCFL 20, PLC 25, NELS 33, Österreichische Linguistiktagung (Innsbruck), GLOW 24 and 26, CUNY, Harvard, Tübingen, and McGill, and to the University of Connecticut students attending my Spring 2006 seminar.

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ARTICLES
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Journal of Germanic Linguistics , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , September 2006 , pp. 175 - 236
Copyright
© 2006 Society for Germanic Linguistics

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