EPP without Spec, IP
Άρτεμις Αλεξιάδου, Elena Anagnostopoulou · 1999
Abstract In Chomsky (1995), it is assumed that checking of strong nominal features of a non-substantive category takes place in a Spec-head configuration. In this system it is actually the presence of such a strong feature that forces the structural realization of the specifier of a given head. A case in point is the checking of the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) feature. The EPP is defined in Chomsky (1995) as a D-feature on I which, when strong, forces the licensing of [Spec, IP] by either movement or merging of an XP. In this chapter, we show that the uniqueness and obligatoriness of [Spec, IP] as an overt subject position that characterizes languages like English does not hold cross-linguistically, We further demonstrate that the presence of a specifier for the checking of the EPP is not necessary and can be dispensed with.