Empty Category Principle
E67051
The Empty Category Principle is a key syntactic constraint in generative grammar that regulates the distribution and licensing of unpronounced (empty) elements in sentence structure.
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
binding theory condition
→
principle in generative grammar → syntactic constraint → |
| alsoKnownAs |
ECP
→
|
| appliesTo |
NP-traces
→
PRO → movement traces → pro → traces → unpronounced elements in sentence structure → wh-traces → |
| associatedWith |
Noam Chomsky
→
|
| concerns |
proper government of empty categories
→
|
| constrains |
positions of traces
→
positions of unpronounced objects → positions of unpronounced subjects → possible syntactic representations → |
| contrastsWith |
overt movement constraints
→
|
| developedWithin |
Government and Binding framework
→
|
| discussedIn |
theoretical syntax literature
→
works on Government and Binding theory → |
| field |
Government and Binding theory
→
generative grammar → syntax → |
| formalizedAs |
condition on government of empty positions
→
|
| hasTheoreticalStatus |
universal grammatical principle
→
|
| influenced |
Minimalist Program treatments of traces
→
later theories of empty categories → |
| motivatedBy |
explanations of island effects
→
patterns of extraction in natural language → |
| regulates |
distribution of empty categories
→
licensing of empty categories → |
| relatedTo |
Binding Theory
→
Case Theory → Subjacency → Theta Criterion → |
| relevantFor |
parametric variation in empty category distribution
→
theory of locality in syntax → |
| requires |
that certain empty categories be properly governed
→
|
| usedIn |
analysis of control constructions
→
analysis of ellipsis → analysis of long-distance dependencies → analysis of null subjects → analysis of relative clauses → analysis of subject extraction → analysis of wh-movement → |
Referenced by (2)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Lectures on Government and Binding
→
|
coreConcept |
|
Government and Binding Theory
→
|
hasPrinciple |