A Phased Based Analysis of Extraction in Persian: Evidence from Noun and Adjective Phrases

The present article is based on the minimalist program and the descriptive – analytic method. It will discuss the extraction of dependents out of noun and adjective phrases in Persian. The question is why dependents of one group of adjective phrases can extract and the structure after the extraction remains grammatical unlike the other group of adjectives phrases out of which the extraction leads to ungrammaticality. The other question is why in all noun phrases in Persian extraction of all dependents are prohibited. The purpose of the research is to apply new approach of phase theory and to analyze the extraction in noun and adjective phrases in Persian phrases based on it. We found out that for the adjective phrases in Persian we have two different structures. In one of them there is a strong uninterpretable N feature [*-uN] and also a weak [EPP] feature on the head of the functional projection (aP) which is located above (AP). Because of the existence of the strong uninterpretable N feature [*-uN] on the head of the functional projection (aP), the adjective (A) moves overtly to the functional head (a) to check and delete the feature. The phonetic realization of that feature checking is the appearance of Ezafe on the head of the Adjective, moreover; because the [EPP] feature on the functional projection (aP) is weak it leaves no motivation for the dependent to move overtly to the spec of (aP). The other type of adjective phrases in Persian has weak [-uN] feature and a strong [*EPP] feature on the head of (aP) so there would be no overt movement of (A) to (a) due to weakness of the feature [-uN] and also there would be overt movement of dependent to spec (aP) to check the [*EPP] feature in a spec – head relation without violating (PIC). On the other hand the extraction of dependents out of a noun phrases always leads to ungrammaticality. This is because the head of the functional projection (nP) located above (NP) has no [EPP] feature so the dependent of (N) has no motivation to move to the edge of (nP).