Stylistic Inversion and the EPP: A Socio-Syntactic Approach

Abstract

This study attempts to connect perceptual parameters of speech use and the syntax of two related constructions. The study focuses on the implications of the acceptability contrast of the locative inversion (LI) and presentational there insertion (PTI) constructions when considering some recent accounts of Extended Projection Principle (EPP) effects. An acceptability judgment test composed of LI and PTI constructions was administered to native English speaking subjects. Acceptability and construction preference rates were quantified and the effect of social variables such as style, sex and level of English Composition were examined. Results show judgment contrasts and confirm the degraded nature of the LI constructions. In regard to the theoretical importance of the EPP, why perceptions of the contrasts differ is captured through a theoretical analysis. Thus, LI constructions are considered slightly degraded in general, compared with the PTI counterparts. This theoretical analysis is supported and complemented by the empirical component