Chomsky’s (2013, 2015) labeling theory requires moved syntactic objects to agree at their landing sites in order to label the resulting structures. Although Japanese lacks agreement, it nevertheless allows free word order through scrambling, posing a theoretical problem for labeling theory. This study addresses the problem using Form Copy proposed by Chomsky (2021). We assume that a case particle is a lower copy of the case assigner and develop a novel method of labeling an XP–YP structure. The analysis explains i) why Japanese scrambling does not create a labeling problem in the absence of agreement, ii) why Japanese scrambling requires a case particle, and iii) why subject scrambling is disallowed. It also considers the role of discourse effects in labeling and identifies conditions under which caseless syntactic objects can move. The analysis also discusses more general spec–head configurations, explaining why spec–head agreement can label an XP–YP set. Finally, it also accounts for German partial wh-movement.
This squib reports a previously undescribed restriction on the Albanian distributive marker nga. While nga combines freely with numeral expressions, speakers judge it strongly degraded with the quantifier shumë ‘many’. An acceptability judgment experiment confirms a selective interaction between distributive marking and quantifier type: the presence of nga lowers acceptability with shumë ‘many’, but not with numerals. Additional judgments suggest that related restrictions may extend to other quantity expressions and to distributive markers in other languages. At the same time, some imprecise numeral expressions appear more acceptable. These findings suggest that distributive marking is not uniformly compatible with all quantity expressions, raising broader questions about how such constructions interact with vagueness.
