An optional rule such as scrambling is allowed only if its application creates a structure which is consistent with the parameter-setting (e.g., the head-parameter) for a language.
Standardized
IF there is an optional rule such as scrambling, THEN its application must create a structure which is consistent with the parameter-setting (e.g., the head-parameter) for a language.
Keywords
order, optional movement, scrambling, parameter
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
English, Irish (both Indo-European), Japanese (Japanese-Ryukyuan), Chinese (Sino-Tibetan), Chamorro (Austronesian)
Russian and Polish (both Slavic) are VO, but allow the (leftward) scrambling of the object. Dutch (Germanic), an OV language, allows an optional rightward movement of a PP.
