Islands

Not all subject islands are equally strong. Some violations become acceptable if they are "saved" by a second gap in the sentence, known as a .

Linguists debate whether these "walls" are built into our mental grammar or caused by how we process information. 1. The Architectural View Islands

Many generative grammarians argue that islands are a result of the of human language. Not all subject islands are equally strong

"Who did you see [a picture of ___]?" (The phrase is the object). "*Who did [a picture of ___] hang on the wall

"*Who did [a picture of ___] hang on the wall?" (The phrase is the subject). Why Do Islands Exist?

The second gap is inside an "island," but the first "licit" gap makes the whole sentence feel okay to a native speaker.

Some researchers suggest the problem isn't grammar, but .