On wh and subject positions, the EPP, and contextuality of syntax

Abstract

By examining local subject A’-movement, the paper argues for a split IP and a contextual approach to the EPP where its locus is not a fixed, unique position, but varies depending on the syntactic context. The landing site of subject wh-movement ( who left) is argued to be lower than non-subject wh-movement ( who did he leave) but higher than regular subjects ( Amy left). Quirky subjects are argued to be lower than agreeing subjects, with a generalization proposed regarding their availability. The overall account is extended to many cases, including V-2 in Germanic, subject-restricted relativizations, only-subjects, Defaka focus-movement, Hong Kong Sign Language wh-movement, imperative and CP subjects, locative inversion, Singlish non-agreeing subjects, Japanese and Chinese subjects. Regarding the EPP, the paper argues for a contextual approach where, on a par with a contextual approach to phases, there is an EPP domain, with the highest projection in the EPP domain being the locus of the EPP (on a par with the highest projection in a phasal domain being a phase). This conception of the EPP is put into a broader perspective regarding a more general move toward contextuality in syntax.