we will call 0-Search (Search 0 ), is the selection of n (typically two) elements,
corresponding to what are generally called the “probe” and the “goal”; then,
the second operation 0-Merge (Merge 0 ) is the formation of a linguistic relation
between X and Y, which we propose to characterize as {X, Y}. Therefore, our
hypothesis is that Search = Merge 0 (Search 0 (Σ)) = Merge 0 ◦Search 0 (Σ) for some
SO Σ. In Section 3, we will propose the decomposition of the standard notion
of “Merge” discussed above and argue that (i) and (ii) are exactly the same
operations as Search 0 and Merge 0 , respectively. Therefore, Merge reduces to
another instance of Merge 0 ◦Search 0. In Sections 4 and 5, we will discuss various
consequences and challenges of the proposed unifi cation of Search and Merge
as Merge 0 ◦Search 0. Section 6 will conclude the chapter.
2 Decomposing Search
Merge has been taken to be an indispensable basic operation of the syntax of human
language, since it has the fundamental function of constructing an infi nite set of
hierarchically structured SOs, without which human language simply cannot have
the property of discrete infi nity that it exhibits. Although it is further suggested in
the literature (cf. Boeckx 2009, Berwick 2011, Fujita 2013, etc.) that Merge is the
only operation that exists in human language, the actual situation in practice is such
that various other miscellaneous operations have been postulated to describe a
variety of linguistic phenomena. This is partly because Merge as usually construed
does not suffi ce to capture the “relations” that are established among (portions of )
SOs, feeding interpretations at the CI and SM interfaces (SEM and PHON, respec-
tively). Such relations include Agree(ment), chains formed by IM and binding.
Kato et al. (2014) attempt to unify the operations proposed to capture these
relations under a general search operation, which is referred to as Search and
characterized as in (1).
(1) Let α be an element which initiates Search and β be the c-command domain
of α. Then, Search is an operation which searches through β for a feature
or a complex of features identical to the one contained in α and establishes
a relation between those (complexes of ) features. (Kato et al. 2014:204)
Search functions, as it were, as a generalized probe-goal mechanism and covers
the cases of Agree, chain-formation and binding.
Let us briefl y see how Search applies in the course of a derivation, taking a
case of wh-movement as an example.^1 Consider the derivation of (2a) below.
(2) a. What did John buy?
b. [C [T [John [what v [buy what]]]]]
[Q] [Q]
Search
c. [what C [T [John [what v [buy what]]]]]
Search
30 Takaomi Kato et al.