When Resumption determines Reconstruction
The goal of our study is to present empirical limits to the traditional analysis of syntactic re-
construction as an exclusive consequence of movement, and to propose a more adequate one as
a consequence of any copying process (which includes movement, but also specific cases of ellip-
sis). More precisely, we will show how this new reconstruction process, restricted by a precise
semantics for copy interpretation, sheds light on well-known puzzles about reconstruction.
1 Overview
Reconstruction is traditionally linked to the copy theory of movement (see Chomsky (1995)
among others): in (1), the reconstructed functional reading (a different picture for every man )
follows from interpretation of the copy within the restrictive relative as an indefinite (see Kayne
(1994) for arguments), and more precisely as a choice function (based on Sauerland (2004)).
2 Unexpected Reconstruction
As a first challenge for this analysis, several authors gave examples of reconstruction with re-
sumption (see (2) in Lebanese Arabic from Aoun et al. (2001), similar data from Breton and
Jordanian Arabic will be provided). The reconstructed reading (in which the pronoun -a can
be bound by the quantifier) is problematic if we consider traditional arguments for the absence
of movement with the resumptive strategy (the absence of island effects).
To overcome unexpected reconstruction in (2), Aoun et al. (2001) argue for two kinds of re-
sumption: an apparent one derived with movement when no island occurs, and true resumption
otherwise. Apparent support for this analysis comes from the unavailability of reconstruction
with the adjunct island, as data from Jordanian Arabic in (4a) shows.
However, we will show that Aoun et al. (2001)'s claim about resumption is too strong as
reconstruction in a strong island can hold with a clitic resumptive in Jordanian Arabic (see
novel data in (3a), similar data in French). If movement is the only trigger for reconstruction,
as suggested in Aoun et al. (2001), how is reconstruction possible within a strong island?
3 Our analysis: resumptives as determiners
To account for this, we propose to analyse resumptives as e-type pronouns in the sense of El-
bourne (2001), i.e. as definite descriptions with a determiner (the resumptive clitic) and an
elided restriction, and further argue that ellipsis of (part of ) a displaced constituent al-
lows for reconstruction. The reconstructed reading in (3a) follows, as the schema in (3b) shows.
One ma jor argument for that claim comes from the distinction between weak and strong
resumption, as assumed in Aoun et al. (2001): strong resumption (epithet, strong pronoun) will
not show reconstruction effects in strong islands (recall (4a)), as it embodies a complete definite
description on its own, leading to the schema in (4b)).
4 Further arguments: on the interpretation of copies
We will show that traditional asymmetries about reconstruction follow quite easily from this
analysis if we assume that a copy can be interpreted either as indefinite (recall (1) in which the
copy within the restrictive relative can be interpreted as a choice function) or as definite (see
Fox (2002)'s view on copies as definite descriptions).
The asymmetry between (5a) and (5b) in the availability of scope reconstruction (from
Sharvit (1997) in Hebrew) is then expected. Only (5a) allows for a reconstructed reading (a
different woman for each man ), as the copy can be interpreted as indefinite (choice function),
whereas resumption in (5b) forces a definite (hence non-functional) interpretation of the copy.
Notice that this analysis also captures the fact that resumption still allows for binding re-
construction in (2) and (3a), as the `definite copy' is functional through the bound pronoun (see
partial LF in (3c)).
We will finally illustrate our analysis with further asymmetries about reconstruction:
· the asymmetry between definite and indefinite relatives given in Aoun and Li (2003) for
Lebanese Arabic;
· the asymmetry between positive binding conditions and condition C in many languages.
1
(1) Mary saw the picture of him that every man prefers picture of him.
partial LF: Mary saw the f [every manx prefers fx (picture of x)]
[t@lmiiz-a1 l-k@sleen]2 ma baddna nXabbir wala mQal lme1 P@nno huwwe2
(2)
student-her the-bad Neg want-1p tell-1p no teacher that he
zaQbar b-l-fači¸
s
cheated-3sm in-the-exam
"Her1 bad student2 , we don't want to tell any teacher1 that he2 cheated on the exam."
(a) [¸alib-[ha]1 l-kassoul]2 ma ziQlat wala mQal lmeh1 laPannuh
(3) t
student-her the-bad Neg upset-3sf no teacher because
kačSat-oh2
l-mudiirah mn l-madrase
the-principal expelled-3sf -CL from the-school
"Her1 bad student, no teacher1 was upset because the principal expelled him from school."
(b) [DP ¸alib-[ha]1 l-kassoul]2 ... [wala mQal lmeh]1 ... [DP -oh [ ¸alib-ha1 l-kassoul ]]2
t t
(c) LF: the x [no teachery was upset because...thex bad student of y]...
(a) *[¸alib-[ha]1 l-kassoul]2 ma čakjan maQ wala mQalmih1 gabl
(4) t
student-her the-bad Neg talked-1p with no teacher before
(ha)-l-gabi2 yesal
the-idiot arrive-3sm
"Her1 bad student2 , we didn't talk to any teacher1 before this idiot2 arrived."
(b) [DP ¸alib-[ha]1 l-kassoul]2 ... [wala mQalmih]1 ... [DP (ha)-l [N P gabi]]2
t
2 hodeta lo1 .
(5) (a) ha-iSa2 Se kol gever1 hizmin
has-thanked him
the-woman Op every man has-invited
"the woman every man1 invited thanked him1 ."
LF: the f [every many invited fy (woman)]...
(b) *ha-iSa2 Se kol gever1 hizmin ota2 hodeta lo1 .
LF: the x [every many invited thex woman]...
References
J. Aoun, L. Choueiri, and N. Hornstein. Resumption, movement and derivational economy.
Linguistic Inquiry, 32:371403, 2001.
J. Aoun and A. Li. Essays on the derivational vs representational nature of grammar. MIT
Press, 2003.
Noam Chomsky. The minimalist program. MIT Press, 1995.
Paul Elbourne. E-type anaphora as np deletion. Natural Language Semantics, 9:241288, 2001.
Danny Fox. Antecedent contained deletion and the copy theory of movement. Linguistic Inquiry,
(33):6396, 2002.
Richard Kayne. The antisymmetry of syntax. MIT Press, 1994.
Uli Sauerland. The interpretation of traces. Natural Language Semantics, 12:63127, 2004.
Yael Sharvit. Syntax and semantics of functional relative clauses. PhD thesis, Rutgers University,
1997.
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