In generative syntactic theory, four types of (sub)labels have formed a cornerstone of current approaches: lexical category labels, functional category labels, X-bar-theoretic sublabels and uninterpretable features. This is despite the fact that all these labels are arguably at odds with the modern generative enterprise, the Minimalist Program. Further, recent approaches which aim to reduce these (sub)labels usually only focus on one of them.
In contrast, the current dissertation proposes a novel and radical label-less grammar model which aims to oust all four types of (sub)labels. First, a single, pre-syntactic lexicon is assumed, in which there is crucially no division between ‘lexical’ and ‘functional’ items, and all listed items can only be specified for phonological content and either conceptual content and/or an entity denotation. Second, narrow syntax is argued to be centered on a modified form of Zwart’s Unary Merge – crucially a form of asymmetric Pair-Merge – as the sole form of Merge. Third, linear order is overwhelmingly assumed to match word order, following Kayne and Zwart. Fourth, and moreover, a novel Conceptual-Intentional interface condition – Merge as Specify – is proposed, which requires an asymmetric semantic relation between the two items involved in all applications of (non-First) Merge, based on the semantic part-of relation.
Moreover, in this dissertation, the label-less grammar model is applied to a diverse range of empirical phenomena across both the traditional nominal and verbal domains, including divisions, quantity, definiteness, Aktionsart, and tense. Further, implications for cross-linguistic variation are also considered.
