Minimalist Program - Technical Innovations

Technical Innovations

The exploration of minimalist questions has led to several radical changes in the technical apparatus of transformational generative grammatical theory. Some of the most important are:

• The generalization of X-bar theory into Bare Phrase Structure (see below).
• The simplification of representational levels in the grammatical model, eliminating the distinction between deep structure and surface structure in favor of more explicitly derivational approach.
• The elimination of the notion of government.
• The inclusion of a single point of interaction between syntax and the interfaces (conceptual/intensional and sensori-motor), commonly called the point of Spell-Out.
• The idea that syntactic derivations proceed by clearly delineated stages called phases (see below).