V 1 , V 2 and criterial movement in Icelandic

In this paper I argue that V1 and V2 orders are the outcome of criterial movement to the CP layer of, respectively, a null OP and an XP. Under the assumption that discourse-related properties are encoded in the CP, I propose a cartographic analysis of the mechanisms determining V1 and V2 orders in Icelandic. I show that the labels V2 and V1 are too generic and misleading because they cover constructions with different interpretive properties. On the one hand there are V2 orders found in declarative clauses, which can be distinguished into topicor subject-initial. On the other hand, V1 orders are marked constructions, where the verb moves to a high position in CP and is preceded by a null OP with a scope-discourse related function. As a consequence, “pure” verb-initial constructions are not found in Icelandic, and, more generally, in Scandinavian. Nonetheless, it is syntactically visible that topic-initial declarative V2 and subject-initial V2 have different pragmatics with respect to what is commonly labelled as V1.