Local vs. global optimization in syntax: a case study

The main goal of this paper is to argue for an approach to optimization in syntax that is not global (as is standardly assumed), but local, in the sense that syntactic optimization procedures can affect only small portions of syntactic structure. Local optimization presupposes harmonic serialism (rather than harmonic parallelism), i.e., a derivational organization of grammar. In line with this, I set out to reconcile optimality theory with the minimalist program (see Chomsky (2000), Chomsky (2001)), a derivational approach in which phrase structure is created incrementally. I argue that local optimization is both conceptually attractive (because it significantly reduces complexity) and supported by empirical evidence. As a case study, I develop an analysis of a shape conservation phenomenon in German that involves repair-driven movement operations at the clause edge. I show that, other things being equal, local optimization succeeds where global optimization fails.