Merge (linguistics)

Merge refers to a syntactic operation with which two syntactic objects are linked to form a new syntactic object. It is one of the basic operations of the Minimalist Program within Generative Grammar .

definition

Merge is triggered by non-interpretable characteristics (here: uN)

Merge links two syntactic objects to form a new syntactic object. The new syntactic object includes the two original syntactic objects, which are sisters. Due to the syntactic relationship of the sisterhood, Merge allows selection features to be checked off on a header . Merge is applied to the roots of the nodes.

function

Merge is triggered by non-interpretable characteristics . These features must be removed from the derivation and therefore 'look for' syntactic objects with corresponding interpretable features. Once linked, the two objects form a binary tree. Merge cannot be triggered if both objects have non-interpretable characteristics. Merge is a recursive operation, so it can be applied to the result of a merge operation. The way Merge works means that the syntactic structures are built up from the bottom up: you start with an expression (word) and use it to create phrases and finally sentences.

literature

David Adger: Core Syntax: A Minimalist Approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003, ISBN 978-0-19-924370-9 .
Noam Chomsky: A minimalist program for linguistic theory. In Kenneth Hale & Samuel Jay Keyser (Eds.), The View From Building 20: Essays in Linguistics in Honor of Sylvain Bromberger. MIT Press, Cambridge 1993.

Individual evidence

^ David Adger: Core Syntax: A Minimalist Approach . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003, ISBN 978-0-19-924370-9 .

[1] David Adger: Core Syntax: A Minimalist Approach . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003, ISBN 978-0-19-924370-9 .