On the order of multiple topics and discourse-feature inheritance

Abstract

Summary: This paper explores two possible syntactic confi gurations of multiple topics attested across languages, namely the strict vs. free arrangement of fronted topics in the left periphery. I suggest that these rigid/fl exible devices can be explained by implementing Chomsky’s (2008) C-to-T feature inheritance mechanism so as to include both agreement features and discourse features (Miyagawa, 2005; 2010), in combination with Richards’ (1999) multiple-specifi er approach to multiple movement, though subject to modifi cations. In my system, the possibility of free ordering of multiple topics is ultimately the consequence of lowering discourse features from C to T and specifying T as a multiple-attractor in the relevant language. This is the case of languages such as Spanish, as opposed to English. The specifi c type of topic feature which percolates to T in languages such as Spanish may attract familiar topics (Frascarelli & Hinterhölzl, 2007) to spec-TP.