Over the last two decades, functional heads have been one of the privileged objects of research in generative linguistics. However, within this line of inquiry, two alternative approaches have developed: while the cartographic project considers crosslinguistic evidence as crucial for a complete mapping of functional heads in universal grammar, minimalist accounts tend to consider structural economy as literally involving a reduction in the number of available heads. In this volume, some of the most influential linguists who have participated in this long-lasting debate offer their recent work in short, self-contained case studies. The contributions cover all the main layers of recently studied syntactic structure, including such major areas of empirical research as grammaticalization and language change, standard and non-standard varieties, interface issues, and morphosyntax.Functional Headsattempts to map aspects of syntactic structure according to the cartographic approach, and in doing so demonstrates that the differences between cartography and minimalism are perhaps more superficial than substantial.
Introduction,The editors
Section 1: On the cartography of functional structure From modal particle to interrogative marker: A study of German denn,Josef Bayer Lexical complementizers and headless relatives,Paola Beninc? The theory of syntax and the representation of indexicality,Alessandra Giorgi Wh-Movement as topic movement,G?nther Grewendorf 'Je est un autre.' Subject positions, point of view and the neuter pronoun tet in West Flemish,Jacqueline Gu?ron and Liliane Haegeman Number within the DP: A view from Oceanic,Elisabeth Pearce Mirative and focusing uses of the Catalan particle pla,Gemma Rigau On the nature of the V2 system in Medieval Romance,Giampaolo Salvi A note on the Spanish Left Periphery,Mar?a Luisl38