Editing Government and binding theory

{{Short description|Theory of syntax}}{{Independent sources|date=August 2023}}{{Linguistics|Grammar}}'''Government and binding''' ('''GB''', '''GBT''') is a theory of [[syntax]] and a [[phrase structure grammar]] in the tradition of [[transformational grammar]] developed principally by [[Noam Chomsky]] in the 1980s.<ref name = LGB>{{cite book|title=[[Lectures on Government and Binding: The Pisa Lectures]]|orig-year=1981|year=1993|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter|author=Chomsky, Noam}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Some Concepts and Consequences of the Theory of Government and Binding|author=Chomsky, Noam|publisher=Linguistic Inquiry Monograph 6. MIT Press|year=1982|isbn=9780262530422 |url=https://archive.org/details/someconceptscons0000chom|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Barriers|author=Chomsky, Noam|year=1986|publisher=Linguistic Inquiry Monograph 13. MIT Press}}</ref> This theory is a radical revision of his earlier theories<ref>{{cite book|title=[[Syntactic Structures]]|author=Chomsky, Noam|orig-year=1957|year=2002|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |edition=Second }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=[[Aspects of the Theory of Syntax]]|year=1965|publisher=MIT Press|author=Chomsky, Noam}}</ref><ref>Chomsky, Noam (1970). [http://babel.ucsc.edu/~hank/mrg.readings/Chomsky1970_Nominalization.pdf Remarks on Nominalization]. In ''Studies on Semantics in Generative Grammar'' (1972). The Hague: Mouton. Pages 11–61.</ref> and was later revised in ''[[The Minimalist Program]]'' (1995)<ref>{{cite book|title=[[The Minimalist Program]]|author=Chomsky, Noam|publisher=MIT Press|year=1995}}</ref> and several subsequent papers, the latest being ''Three Factors in Language Design'' (2005).<ref>{{cite journal|author=Chomsky, Noam|title=Three Factors in Language Design|year=2005|journal=Linguistic Inquiry|issue=36|pages=1–22|doi=10.1162/0024389052993655|volume=36|s2cid=14954986 |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/linguistic_inquiry/v036/36.1chomsky.pdf}}</ref> Although there is a large literature on government and binding theory which is not written by Chomsky, Chomsky's papers have been foundational in setting the research agenda.

The name refers to two central subtheories of the theory: ''[[government (linguistics)|government]]'', which is an abstract syntactic relation applicable, among other things, to the assignment of [[grammatical case|case]]; and ''[[binding (linguistics)|binding]]'', which deals chiefly with the relationships between [[pronouns]] and the expressions with which they are [[co-referential]]. GB was the first theory to be based on the [[principles and parameters]] model of language, which also underlies the later developments of the minimalist program.

==Government==
The main application of the ''[[government (linguistics)|government]]'' relation concerns the assignment of [[Grammatical case|case]]. Government is defined as follows:

A '''governs''' B if and only if
* A is a '''governor''' and
* A '''[[m-command]]s''' B and
* no '''barrier''' intervenes between A and B.

'''Governors''' are heads of the [[lexical category|lexical categories]] (V, N, A, P) and [[tensed I]] (T). A [[m-command]]s B if A does not [[dominance (linguistics)|dominate]] B and B does not dominate A and the first '''maximal projection''' of A dominates B, where the maximal projection of a head X is XP. This means that for example in a structure like the following, A [[m-command]]s B, but B does not [[m-command]] A:

[[Image:ApBp.png]]

In addition, '''barrier''' is defined as follows:<ref>see "Minimality" in Haegeman 1994:163f.</ref> A barrier is any node Z such that
* Z is a potential governor for B and
* Z [[c-command]]s B and
* Z does not [[c-command]] A

The government relation makes case assignment unambiguous. The tree diagram below illustrates how DPs are governed and assigned case by their governing heads:

[[Image:HeSmashedTheVase1.png]]

Another important application of the government relation constrains the occurrence and identity of [[Trace (linguistics)|traces]] as the [[Empty category principle|Empty Category Principle]] requires them to be properly governed.

==Binding==
[[Binding (linguistics)|Binding]] can be defined as follows:

* An element α binds an element β if and only if α [[c-command]]s β, and α and β corefer.

Consider the sentence "John<sub>i</sub> saw his<sub>i</sub> mother", which is diagrammed below using simple [[phrase structure rules|phrase structure trees]].

[[Image:Government and Binding Theory basic tree.png]]

The NP "John" c-commands "his" because the first parent of the NP, S, contains "his".  "John" and "his" are also coreferential (they refer to the same person), therefore "John" binds "his".

On the other hand, in the ungrammatical sentence "*The mother of John<sub>i</sub> likes himself<sub>i</sub>", "John" does not c-command "himself", so they have no binding relationship despite the fact that they corefer.

[[Image:the mother of John.png]]

The importance of binding is shown in the grammaticality or ungrammaticality of the following sentences:

# <nowiki>*</nowiki>John<sub>i</sub> saw him<sub>i</sub>.
# John<sub>i</sub> saw himself<sub>i</sub>.
# <nowiki>*</nowiki>Himself<sub>i</sub> saw John<sub>i</sub>. 
# <nowiki>*</nowiki>John<sub>i</sub> saw John<sub>i</sub>.

Binding is used, along with particular binding principles, to explain the ungrammaticality of statements 1, 3, and 4. The applicable rules are called Binding Principle A, Binding Principle B, and Binding Principle C.

*'''Principle A:''' an anaphor (reflexive or reciprocal, such as "each other") must be bound in its governing category (roughly, the clause).
Since "himself" is not c-commanded by "John" in sentence [3], Principle A is violated.

*'''Principle B:'''  a pronoun must be free (i.e., not bound) within its governing category (roughly, the clause).
In sentence [1], "him" is bound by "John", violating Principle B.

*'''Principle C:''' an [[R-expression]] must be free (i.e., not bound). R-expressions (e.g. "the dog" or "John") are referential expressions: unlike pronouns and anaphora, they independently refer, i.e., pick out entities in the world.
In sentence [4], the first instance of "John" binds the second, violating Principle C.

Note that Principles A and B refer to "governing categories"—domains which limit the scope of binding. The definition of a governing category laid out in ''Lectures on Government and Binding''<ref name = LGB/> is complex, but in most cases the governing category is essentially the minimal clause or complex NP.

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
* [[Liliane Haegeman]] (1994). ''Introduction to Government and Binding Theory'' (Second Edition). Blackwell.

==External links==
{{Wikibooks|Government and Binding Theory}}
*[https://mexico.sil.org/sites/mexico/files/e002-introgb.pdf A step-by-step introduction to the Government and Binding theory of syntax]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Generative syntax]]
[[Category:Syntactic relationships]]
[[Category:Syntax]]
[[Category:Noam Chomsky]]
[[Category:Grammar frameworks]]
[[Category:Theories of language]]