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A Phased Based Analysis of Extraction in Persian: Evidence from Noun and Adjective Phrases
 
Ali Darzi^1* & Arash Rezaee²
 
Abstract
The present article is based on the minimalist program and the descriptive – analytic method. It will discuss the extraction of dependents out of noun and adjective phrases in Persian. The question is why dependents of one group of adjective phrases can extract and the structure after the extraction remains grammatical unlike the other group of adjectives phrases out of which the extraction leads to ungrammaticality. The other question is why in all noun phrases in Persian extraction of all dependents are prohibited. The purpose of the research is to apply new approach of phase theory and to analyze the extraction in noun and adjective phrases in Persian phrases based on it. We found out that for the adjective phrases in Persian we have two different structures. In one of them there is a strong uninterpretable N feature [*-uN] and also a weak [EPP] feature on the head of the functional projection (aP) which is located above (AP). Because of the existence of the strong uninterpretable N feature [*-uN] on the head of the functional projection (aP), the adjective (A) moves overtly to the functional head (a) to check and delete the feature. The phonetic realization of that feature checking is the appearance of Ezafe on the head of the Adjective, moreover; because the [EPP] feature on the functional projection (aP) is weak it leaves no motivation for the dependent to move overtly to the spec of (aP). The other type of adjective phrases in Persian has weak [-uN] feature and a strong [*EPP] feature on the head of (aP) so there would be no overt movement of (A) to (a) due to weakness of the feature [-uN] and also there would be overt movement of dependent to spec (aP) to check the [*EPP] feature in a spec – head relation without violating (PIC). On the other hand the extraction of dependents out of a noun phrases always leads to ungrammaticality. This is because the head of the functional projection (nP) located above (NP) has no [EPP] feature so the dependent of (N) has no motivation to move to the edge of (nP).

1. Introduction
Extraction out of certain phrases like noun and adjective phrases has some rules and constraints. In this article we try to analyze the Persian data based on the new phase theory (Bošković 2014 a,b; 2015; 2016) to obtain a consistent analysis. The analysis is based on the minimalist program and the descriptive – analytic method and the question is why extraction out of noun phrases in Persian is totally prohibited and why we have to different types of adjective phrase regarding the extraction. We hypothesize that the [EPP] feature in the head of functional projection (aP) and the lack of it in the head of functional projection (nP) is the reason for extraction of the dependents in noun and adjective phrases in Persian.
 
2. Literature Review
Ghomeshi (1996) believes that the (DPs) can only extract out of direct objects in Persian. The other researchers like Karimi, & Lobeck. (1997)  say the specificity is not the only reason behind the extraction of dependents out of (DPs). karimi (1999) suggests the (DPs) are islands only if the specifiers of them are filled with a lexical element. Karimi (2005) believes that extraction out of objective and subjective noun phrases is possible if only they are not specific.
 
3. Methodology
The article is in descriptive – analytic method and based on the minimalist program.
 
4. Results
In this article we found that in noun phrases in Persian the head its functional projection (n) does not have an [EPP] feature and this the main reason that extraction out of noun phrases is not possible. In Adjective phrases in Persian we face two different categories. One type of Adjectives allow extraction due to strong [EPP] feature on the head of their functional projections (a), but the other type does not have strong [EPP] feature so there would be no extraction out of them.
 
5. Conclusion
We conclude that Ezafe domain in noun and adjective phrases does not allow the dependent to extrat. In other words, extraction out of Ezafe domain leads to ungrammaticality.

Keywords: Phase theory, Extraction, Ezafe domain, Phase over phase condition, Phase impenetrability condition

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