On the Nature of the EPP: Locative Inversion vs. Presentational there

Since Chomsky (1981), the effect of the EPP has been a continuous topic of research. The original idea of the EPP is the structural requirement that certain heads have the mandatory presence of specifiers. In the classic minimalism, the structural concept of the EPP has been reinterpreted as a result of a morphological requirement. More precisely, in Chomsky (1993, 1995), the EPP is a feature checking requirement according to which the N/D-feature of Infl be checked overtly, driven by a strong feature. In passing, Chomsky (1995 MIT class lectures), however, takes the EPP as a universal thematization requirement, consequently making the EPP rather interface-driven. Chomsky (1998, 1999), on the other hand, returns to the original formulation of the EPP as in Chomsky (1981, 1982), stating the EPP as a requirement to have an overtly filled Spec. This paper examines the above three minimalist trends on the EPP, and argues for the overtly filled Spec view of the EPP, capitalizing on the comparison of locative inversion and presentational there insertion.