Introduction

Having presented a broad empirical base, and a variety of mechanisms needed to deal with the distribution of meaning throughout the derivation, this chapter is devoted to clarifying the specific role that the Chomsky Hierarchy (CH) plays in the distributed interpretation thesis. After the classical CH is reviewed in section 7.2.1, section 7.2.2 suggests ways to revamp the hierarchy in more current terms. Section 7.3 discusses the relevance of the CH to the derivational theory of complexity, which becomes important again within the Minimalist Program. Section 7.3.1 shows how considerations of formal complexity in roughly the CH sense are often raised when it comes to the actual procedural workings of the grammar, and whether it is purely linear or somewhat parallel, and if so to what extent. Section 7.3.2 discusses some sophisticated experimental observations suggesting that the DTC is not only relevant to current theorizing, but possibly also a way to help us focus the broad program of syntax, where different theoretical alternatives are often reasonably entertained. This is seen in more detail in a case study on island conditions briefly sketched in section 7.3.3. Section 7.4.1 returns to the central concern of this book – how paradigmatic notions relate to complexity in syntax – and in section 7.4.2 the DIT is explicitly proposed.