Focus association by movement: Evidence from binding and parasitic gaps

Abstract

Under the influential Roothian proposal for focus association, focused phrases remain in-situ at LF (Rooth, 1985, 1992). However, a recent line of work has resurrected the idea that focus association involves covert movement: specifically, the associate of English sentential only must covertly move to only, with the possibility of covert pied-piping (Drubig, 1994; Krifka, 1996, 2006; Tancredi, 1997, 2004; Wagner, 2006; Erlewine and Kotek, 2014, 2018). In this paper we contribute to this emerging consensus view with additional evidence from reflexive binding and parasitic gap licensing.