Jaume Solà i Pujols - Departament de Filologia Catalana ...

In order to account for these facts in line with the above considerations, let us assume
that in Sardinian some prepositions are lexically specified to block control (so that the Elsewhere
Condition would take this more irregular option).
Let us try to summarize and integrate all the above considerations:
a) Control is the most regular option as far as the Elsewhere Condition is concerned: it
applies if the structural conditions are met and there is no more irregular, language-particular
option blocking its application.
b) Languages can have lexically determined options blocking control: verbs
subcategorizing for IP instead of CP (raising/ECM); prepositions specified for non-control (as in
Sardinian), etc. Of course, these language-particular options have to abide by the learnability
problem: they have to be easily recognizable, and allowed by UG. Thus, for instance, the
existence of ECM or raising has to be learnable (and I think it is, on the mere basis of hearing the
constructions). The pattern in Sardinian (absence/presence of preposition control/non-
control) is, I think, not difficult to identify, for at least the prepositional IOS complement is
readily identified.
c) Another language particular fact that the learner can easily identify is the existence of
AGR-inflected infinitives (see next section). In this case, the issue of whether AGR is present or
not is not at stake: it is obviously present and poses no special problem of learnability. This
option blocks control.
One idea contained in the above proposals is that the theory must not explain too much:
whenever a construction is language specific and poses no obvious problem for being
straightforwardly learned, it would be simply inadequate to try to directly derive its existence
from principles and wide-scope parameter settings. Principles and parameter settings should only
allow the construction, not determine it.
There is a remaining important problem concerning Sardinian: if Sardinian, as we
argued, takes the marked option in the Parallelism Principle, then IOS are not expected at all. As
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