This pathbreaking study presents a new perspective on the role of derivation, the series of operations by which sentences are formed. Working within the Minimalist Program and focusing on English, the authors develop an original theory of generative syntax, providing illuminating new analyses of some central syntactic constructions. Two key questions are explored: first, can the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) be eliminated from Minimalist analysis without loss, and perhaps with a gain in empirical coverage; and second, is the construct 'A-Chain' similarly eliminable? The authors argue that neither EPP nor the A-chain is in fact a property of Universal Grammar, but rather their descriptive content can be deduced from independently motivated properties of lexical items, in accordance with overarching principles governing derivation. In investigating these questions, a range of new data is introduced, and existing data re-analyzed, presenting a pioneering challenge to fundamental assumptions in syntactic theory.

We argue that Chomsky’s (2013) ‘‘label identification by minimal search’’ explains ‘‘obligatory exit’’ from intermediate positions, not only in the successive-cyclic Ā-movement phenomena that Chomsky analyzes, but also in (phase-internal) successive-cyclic A-movement. Moreover, it does so by employing simplest Merge and third-factor minimal search for label identification. Our extension of Chomsky’s analysis to A-movement operates without any appeal to Merge-over- Move or to lexical arrays or subarrays. This in turn renders the concept ‘‘phase’’ itself no longer necessary in analyzing the core cases of illicit A-movement, shown to reduce to labeling failure. Implications of this result and the nature of the long-standing evidence for strict cyclicity are discussed.

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This chapter proposes and explores a “new” deduction of cyclic Transfer. A new account of cyclic Transfer is motivated since Chomsky’s (2007, 2008) “valuation-induced” account has both conceptual and empirical problems. The proposal is guided by strict adherence to: Strong Minimalist Thesis (optimal satisfaction of the interfaces) and 3rd factor considerations. There is one necessary, and simple, structure building operation, Merge. Minimizing search, External Merge can apply only to root nodes. Internal Merge can apply only if all External Merges have been exhausted. Internal Merge, based on the simplest form of Merge, creates structures which trigger Transfer. cyclic Transfer is then a natural and immediate consequence of strict adherence to SMT and 3rd factor.

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