government-binding theory (GB)

A MODEL of GRAMMAR, a descendent of EXTENDED STANDARD THEORY and ultimately of classical TRANSFORMATIONAL grammar; also called government and binding theory. It assumes that SENTENCES have three main levels of structure: D-STRUCTURE, S-STRUCTURE and LOGICAL FORM. S-structure is derived from D-structure, and logical form from S-structure, by a single transformation, MOVE ALPHA, which essentially means move anything anywhere. Various so-called sub-theories interact with this to allow just the right structures to be generated. The main sub-theories are X-BAR theory, THETA THEORY, CASE theory, BINDING theory, BOUNDING theory, CONTROL theory and GOVERNMENT theory. Because of the way these sub-theories interact, GB is commonly described as a ‘modular’ theory. Proponents of GB suggest that essentially the same principles of SYNTAX are operative in all languages, although they can take a slightly different form in different languages. For this reason, GB is often referred to as the ‘PRINCIPLES and PARAMETERS’ approach.