The Hypothesis of Categorization Origins of Merge and Labeling in Evolinguistics: Its Implications to the Labeling System in Syntax and East Asian Linguistic Study

The present chapter aims to look into the issue of Merge and labeling in syntax from the perspective of the hypothesis of categorization origins of Merge and labeling advanced in Hoshi (2018, 2019), exploring its implications for the labeling system in syntax and East Asian linguistic study. More specifically, an alternative to Chomsky’s (2013, 2015) labeling algorithm (LA) in syntax is proposed to be employed in the mapping from narrow syntax (NS) to the conceptual-intentional (C-I) interface based on the “function-argument” constitution in the characteristic function for category labeling, while pointing out the undesirable miscellaneous nature of Chomsky’s system and the so-called {XP, YP} problem being a pseudo-problem. To the extent that the alternative proposal in this chapter is on the right track, East Asian languages without φ-feature agreement will turn out to be exemplar languages instantiating the labeling system in syntax.