Stack-Sorting Grammar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7557/12.7978Keywords:
Word order, stack-sort, Greenberg's Universal 20, linearization, extended projections, head movement, cross-serial dependenciesAbstract
I propose that, within local domains corresponding to extended projections, typologically possible information-neutral word orders are limited to the stack-sortable (231-avoiding) permutations of a universal head-complement-specifier linear order. This proposal explains and unifies some well-known but previously unrelated word order universals, while successfully generating phenomena that challenge traditional approaches. Applications include Cinque’s revision of Greenberg’s Universal 20, the Final-Over-Final Condition, a modified Head Movement Constraint allowing attested Long Head Movement, English Affix Hopping, Germanic cross-serial subject-verb dependencies, and Icelandic Stylistic Fronting. Extending the system to multiple extended projections requires stack-sorting in cycles, expanding the set of allowed orders.
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