On the Nature of Proper Government

Abstract

In the last few years, there has been extensive investigation of the Empty Category Principle (ECP) — the requirement that an empty category must be properly governed. Attention has particularly focused on the ECP as a constraint on the representations resulting from Wh Movement (see for example Jaeggli (1980a), Chomsky (1981a), Kayne (1981a), Stowell (1981), Huang (1982)). In this article we will address such issues as (a) the definition of “proper government,” (b) the level(s) of representation to which the ECP applies, and (c) the relationship between the ECP and other principles. We will integrate this discussion into a treatment of Wh Movement in general and wh-in-situ in particular.