Exceptional Case Marking As Case-Regulated

Abstract

It is known that syntactic processes are in general subject to locality requirements. This paper argues that a head with a Case feature is one element that determines a local or minimal domain for syntactic processes, the essence of Case Minimality (J.-S. Lee 1990, 1991). The empirical data come from ECM facts in both Korean and Modern Greek: With verb raising applied, an embedded verb with a Case feature may not structurally intervene between the matrix ECM verb and the embedded subject. Under the ECM analysis of the minimalist theory (Chomsky 1992), i.e., LF raising of the embedded subject to the matrix SPEC AGRoP, the embedded subject raises out of a minimal domain if the intervening verb, under Case Minimality, has a Case feature. The raising out of a minimal domain, if this is not a shortest move, then results in a violation of economy principle in the sense of Chomsky (1992). In such a case ECM is impossible, but in other cases it is possible.