Grand Meeting 2006 in Solf

Variation in nominal phrases from a minimalist perspective

Marit Julien, Lund University

Within the generative research paradigm that might be referred to as Chomskyan linguistics, linguistic variation has always been theoretically important. Since the ultimate object of investigation is Universal Grammar, it is crucial to establish the limits of variation and to develop adequate analyses of the variation that exists. Consequently, as the paradigm has matured, more and more linguistic varieties have received attention. The perspective is sometimes macro-comparative, in particular when what one is after is an understanding of what the possible forms of human language look like, and sometimes micro-comparative, in particular when the focus is on the precise characterisation of one specific point of variation. In my lecture, I will try to demonstrate the central role that variation plays and has played in Chomskyan linguistics. I will give some examples that illustrate how variation has figured in the development of the theory at earlier stages. Then, in order to show in more detail the importance of taking variation into account in theory building, I will present a model of the syntax of nominal phrases, a model that is framed within the so-called Minimalist program and developed on the basis of the numerous nominal syntactic patterns found in Scandinavian. We will see that together, the Scandinavian varieties that we look at provide us with a much stronger empirical footing than any one of them would do on its own. Moreover, it appears that the model that we arrive at can successfully account for not only Scandinavian, but also for nominal phrases in languages that are very distant from Scandinavian both geographically and genetically.