Domains of ordering

Abstract

This paper develops a theory of linearization in which the LCA (Kayne, The antisymmetry of syntax, MIT Press, 1994) linearizes one portion of the clause, with a secondary algorithm linearizing a second portion of the clause when the LCA-determined order of terminals would conflict with other principles of the morphosyntax. The empirical focus is the correspondence or lack thereof between scope and word order in Japanese, Tagalog, and English: for one portion of the clause, there is a strict correspondence between the linear order of certain elements and their scope, while for another portion of the clause, this correspondence breaks down. Given a theory of LCA-determined linear order and clause structure following Biberauer [Linguist Inq 45(2):169–225, 2014], alongside a restricted theory of reconstruction, we show that the portion of the clause for which the LCA determines linear order is that which displays the strict correspondence between linear order and scope, while that for which the secondary algorithm determines linear order is where the correspondence between scope and linear order breaks down.