An Integrated Study of Quirky Subjects in Natural Languages (Ⅱ) - Focusing on the Visibility of the Dative Experiencer

An Integrated Study of Quirky Subjects in Natural Languages (Ⅱ)

&nbsp;&nbsp;The main purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated account to the visibility of the dative experiencer in raising constructions. Adapting Boeckx&quot;s(2000) suggestion that there are two separate levels, i.e., the Match level and the Agree level, we propose that each of the two is subject to separate locality condition. In the Match level, an intervening inactive goal blocks further Match, and gives rise to the DIC effects. In the Agree level, Agree takes place serially between an activated probe and goals. Since inactive goals are invisible to Agree, no DIC effects arise.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Given the separate locality condition on the two levels, we suggest that languages can be grouped into two types: the one in which the Match level is separated from the Agree level (Icelandic, Italian, and French, etc.) in the process of syntactic operations, and the other in which Match is a part of Agree (English, Korean, and Japanese, etc.). In the former, Move takes place under Match in absence of Agree, and thus, raising across the experiencer is not allowed due to the DIC. In the latter, no DIC effects arise since Agree is a prerequisite to Move. As a result, raising across the inactive experiencer is allowed. This explains the different behaviors of the experiencer in inducing the intervention effects between the two groups of languages.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;We believe that the current approach can provide a natural explanation to the quirky subject constructions. In languages that have the Match level, a dative can move to Spec,TP under Match to assume a quirky subject. Movement of a nominative DP across the dative will result in the DIC violation. In languages that do not have the Match level, Move takes place under Agree. Thus, a dative cannot move to the subject position unless it is reactivated by additional structural Case rendered visible by a probe that is capable of entering into multiple Agree.