Phase theory, linearization and zig-zag movement

The aim of this paper is to show how the grammar of human languages can capture the fact that certain elements move from one edge of the vP to the opposite edge of the CP, instantiating what I will call zig-zag movement. The theory of phases developed by Chomsky (2000) and subsequent works, and the theory of successive cyclic linearization proposed by Fox and Pesetsky (2005) interact with two general and plausible restrictions on overt movement: the ban on movement from the complement of a head to the specifier of the same projection (Abels 2003), and the ban on movement from the specifier of a projection to the specifier of the same projection (Ko 2005). When combined together, these three ingredients generate a series of restrictions that are at odds with empirical data from Italian Sign Language (LIS) and other signed and spoken languages. In particular, zig-zag movement is predicted to be ungrammatical, because it would produce a conflicting ordering among the lexical elements, whi...