The project aims to break new ground in syntax and acquisition by combining three main strands of research:

1. the cartography of syntactic structures, which attempts to draw detailed maps of syntactic configurations;

2. the theory of syntactic locality, with special reference to intervention and delimitation principles;

3. the minimalist investigation of the fundamental ingredients of syntactic computations.

Interconnected issues of cartography and locality will be addressed both in the adult grammar, and in language acquisition.

There is much to expect from a close integration of these domains, which can complement and strengthen each other in substantive ways. The acquisition component introduces important variations on the theoretical themes, thus crucially enriching the empirical basis of the theoretical component; reciprocally, the solid theoretical structure of the project will offer new explanatory dimensions and generate novel research questions for acquisition studies.

The “complementizer system” is one privileged locus where cartography and locality meet, as much of the movement action targets this zone of the syntactic tree. The research will then primarily focus on this area.

The project aims at opening new paths in

1. the “further explanation” of cartographic sequences and delimitation effects;

2. the development of a full-fledged theory of A’-movement, integrating cartographic studies with

   minimalist syntax;

3. the exploration of a unified approach to intervention and impenetrability locality principles;

4. an integrated study of locality in adults and children;

5. the study of the acquisition of cartographic structures.

The time is ripe for this kind of project: important dimensions of the study of language as a cognitive capacity have complementary needs which could be satisfied through a proper integration, while the risk that they may drift apart is concrete. Cartography has proved to have a remarkable heuristic capacity in promoting and organizing cross-linguistic research, but it should not miss the opportunity to go beyond rich descriptions and seek deeper explanatory dimensions. Minimalism has permitted much progress by narrowing the theoretical focus to elementary linguistic computations, but a systematic blending with cartographic research could now broaden its scope and renew its appeal as a trigger for empirical research, much as in early parametric models. In the current phase, acquisition studies and theoretical research run the serious risk of getting progressively disconnected, much to the detriment of both fields. A major attempt to promote integration is well worth pursuing, and the ERC program offers the right setting for a project of this dimension and ambition.