Final-over-Final Constraint
Proposed Constraint in Theoretical Linguistics / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Linguistics, specifically in Generative Syntax, the Final-over-Final Constraint (FOFC) is a proposed[1] constraint in word-order variation in natural language concerning the hierarchical structure seen in Extended Projections, which asserts that a Head-Final phrase cannot immediately dominate a Head-Initial phrase if they are in the same extended projection. The Final-over-Final constraint has been suggested as a potential Linguistic Universal,[2] following the Chomskyan research program in which the existence of linguistic universals is assumed to arise from an innate biological component of the language faculty that allows humans to learn language. Specifically, it is defined as:
Final-over-Final Constraint: If and are members of the same extended projection, then a Head-Final cannot immediately dominate a Head-Initial , as below:[2]
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This effect was first noticed by Anders Holmberg in Finnish, when comparing it with the similarly disharmonic Head-Initial over Head-Final structure:.[3][2]
Kyllä
indeed
se
he
[AuxP
onAux
has
[VP
ostanutV
bought
auton]]
car
Kyllä se [AuxP onAux [VP ostanutV auton]]
indeed he {} has {} bought car
'He has indeed bought a car'
Kyllä
indeed
se
he
[AuxP
[VP
auton
car
ostanutV]
bought
onAux]
has
Kyllä se [AuxP [VP auton ostanutV] onAux]
indeed he {} {} car bought has
Kyllä
indeed
se
he
[AuxP
onAux
has
[VP
auton]
car
onAux]
bought
Kyllä se [AuxP onAux [VP auton] onAux]
indeed he {} has {} car bought
*Kyllä
indeed
se
he
[AuxP
[VP
ostanutV
bought
auton]
car
onAux]
has
*Kyllä se [AuxP [VP ostanutV auton] onAux]
indeed he {} {} bought car has
(Holmberg, 2000)