Paper

The Subregular Complexity of Syntactic Islands

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Abstract

We provide a formal framework for analyzing syntactic island effects from a subregular perspective. Key aspects of the syntactic representation are encoded as strings where precedence represents containment. Island effects then are expressed as constraints on the shape of these strings. The constraints fit in the class IBSP (Interval-Based Strictly Piecewise), which has been previously explored in subregular phonology. Consequently, the characterization of islands in terms of IBSP string constraints not only provides a computational upper bound on the inventory of feasible island effects, but also establishes a surprising link between syntax on the one hand and phonology on the other.

Keywords: computational syntax, island constraints, subregular, IBSP

How to Cite:

Shafiei, N. & Graf, T., (2020) “The Subregular Complexity of Syntactic Islands”, Society for Computation in Linguistics 3(1), 272-281. doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/scil.1202