Phi-features and the Modular Architecture of - UMR 7023 - CNRS

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at PF, including in prosodic independence (Chomsky 2001: 8, 12, Legate 2003,
Uriagereka 1999ab). In virtue of Transfer, phase-heads or the prosodic boundaries
they establish might serve as hosts for any adjacent prosodically dependent elements.
In full PPs, pronouns are always adjacent to the phase-head, so their Σdeficiency
would be satisfied. In CPs, pronouns are separated from the phase-edge
by [Spec, TP] and T. T might count as the phase-internal incarnation of the C-T
phase-head and serve as host for that reason (Richards 2007, Chomsky 2007,
2008, see section 5.4). Alternatively, cliticization in the CP might use T as host for
a different reason than phase-independence, perhaps reflected by the realization of
pronouns in strong form within PPs, in clitic form in CPs. 161
The morphophonological view of Σ-deficiency lends itself naturally to sort
out the problems that ℜ can and cannot repair. French has presented the opportunity
to see the limits of ℜ in section 4.6. The PCC repair fixes the PCC, but not
the other failures of cliticization in (334).
(334) Dative cliticization failure irreparable by dative→locative:
a. [PF] Arbitrary clitic cluster gaps
b. [PF?] Multiple dative clitics
c. [PF??] Mediopassive se + dative clitic
d. [cliticization] Coordination and modification
e. [cliticization] Datives in DP or modifier AP
f. [cliticization?] Causatives of unergatives
g. [LF] Condition B / overlapping reference
(section 4.6)
These limits of ℜ seem to follow elegantly from its restriction to failures of
Full Interpretation (section 5.4). ℜ can be triggered by the illegibility of a syntactic
structure to the external systems, notably through the presence of uninterpretable
features like Case. Modularity prevents it from detecting problems that
arise within the external systems or at their output.
Some of the problems in (334) belong to the external systems with reasonable
clarity, PF or LF. Arbitrary clitic cluster gaps, likely multiple clitic cluster gaps,
and perhaps the mediopassive se + dative clitic ban, arise within realizational
morphology or its use, along with similar gaps elsewhere such as Basque (306)
(Rezac 2010a, forthc). Binding problems arise within interpretation. These syntaxexternal
problems are invisible to ℜ by modularity.
That leaves the problems attributed to cliticization in (334). The Person Case
Constraint is clearly not a problem with cliticization, although it bans clitics.
Within and outside French, it is a independent of cliticization or agreement morphology
(section 5.2). The problems labelled [cliticization] in (334) seem to be
161 Strong and clitic pronouns have a different syntax (section 4.4), but that is orthogonal to their
realization: it arises from being inside a full PP or not, outside or inside the VP, or having extra
structure around the pronominal core, all of which is independent of how the pronominal core is
realized, in clitic form within the CP, in or as part of the strong form in the PP.