This paper is a follow-up investigation of Sherman’s (1975) study on stress shifts. The new paroxytonic stresses since 1975 among Sherman’s 215 oxytones and 150 diatones, together with the present stress patterns of the 252 N-V pairs under 12 prefixes examined here, in American and British English, clearly delineate an ‘Oxytone → Diatone → Paroxytone’ migration path. This constitutes a departure from Sherman’s two-origin (‘O → D’ and ‘P → D’) theory of diatone formation as well as disproves his claim that present paroxytone pairs have not undergone any shift to diatonic status. Phonotactic structures (Secondary Stress, first syllable coda, and [-t/d] ending) have no bearing on stress shifts.

This paper presents a new theory of Agree, and demonstrates how it accounts for various syntactic facts. The subject DP in SPEC-T serves as a probe for T and gets transferred for that purpose. On the other hand, Transfer does not apply to DP if it remains in v(*)P since T is the probe in such a structure. The asymmetry in Agree relations explains why preverbal and postverbal subjects may induce different agreement patterns. The proposed theory also accounts for the presence and absence of subject island effects and defective intervention effects.

Ackema and Neeleman (2001, 2004) propose Competition Theory to explain typological differences. In this theory, morphology and syntax compete for structural realization, and language types depend on the way that an underlying structure is realized on its surface, whether morphologically or syntactically. Adopting Competition Theory, this article presents a new perspective on cross-linguistic variations in realization patterns of nominal modification with special reference to the contrast between English and Japanese. Our analysis reveals that this contrast ultimately follows from a macroparametric distinction between the two languages and that similar cross-linguistic variations can be given a unified account as instantiations of this macroparametric distinction.

In this paper, I argue that, although Chomsky’s (2008) framework of Feature-Inheritance (F-I) has gained empirical and theoretical support, it raises problems concerning w(eak)-phases, and suggest that these problems are solved by an assumption of Feature-Transcription (F-T), namely, extended F-I from a s(trong)-phase head onto w-phase heads. Additionally, the F-T framework enables us to account for the appearance of inflection on passive participles cross-linguistically, to deduce selectability of P-stranding/P-pied-piping in leftward movement, and to rule out P-stranding in rightward movement, making a contribution to the further development of Phase Theory.

This paper investigates various phenomena related to clausal arguments in Irish, and based on the findings, we claim (i) that Irish grammar should contain a language-particular condition on A′-resumption chains, (ii) that the subject position is not a properly governed position in Irish, (iii) that human language allows a bare IP to function as a subject, and (iv) that the chain pattern (aL, that, RP) turns out to be real in movement constructions with one embedded clause in Irish.

This paper considers the Strong Minimalist Thesis proposed in Minimalist theory with a case study of superiority effects in A-movement. Given this thesis, Merge applies freely in syntax, which suggests that an NP can move over another NP. We argue that in derivations which result in superiority violations, Case features are transferred to the interfaces unvalued, claiming that interface conditions, not minimality, are responsible for the superiority effects. We also discuss two predictions of the proposed analysis, arguing that they are theoretically and empirically endorsed. Through our discussion, we show that syntax is only extrasyntactically constrained, concluding that language is perfectly designed.

Samuels (2011) develops an evolutionarily adequate theory of phonology, based on Hauser, Chomsky and Fitch (2002). In her theory, phonology is explainable through the domain-general properties in the S-M interface whose precursors are found in other animals, and the apparent uniqueness of these properties emerges from their combination. This is a plausible reply to Pinker and Jackendoff’s (2005) criticism against the Merge-only scenario of FLN by arguing for the apparently species-specific and language-specific nature of phonology.

However, we will claim that this story stands only in I-phonology but that in the spirit of methodological generalism, we must aim at constructing a theory that incorporates both I-phonology and E-phonology in the trilogy model of biolinguistics. We will also show some empirical and conceptual evidence for the DYG, which implies that even such an ‘uneconomical’ phenomenon must have a place in I-phonology as well as E-phonology and that its computation can be offered an account by Turbid Optimality Theory.

Ruth Möhlig-Falke’s The Early English Impersonal Construction (2012) is a thoroughgoing investigation of the Old English impersonal construction, from a syntactic perspective, within the framework of cognitive grammar and corpus-based data. In the present review, however, some oversight and problems requiring further investigations are identified including the following points: (1) polysemous situations and syntactic variations are often found with verbs used impersonally; (2) though the dative-accusative syncretism has already started, unambiguous case-endings are kept throughout the Old English period; (3) synonyms influence on each other syntactically; (4) when there is ambiguity, there is a need to go back to the manuscript(s); (5) many exceptions, if not too many, remain that must be explained in some way or the other. The best way to analyse the impersonal construction is still to be found.