Dissolving the A/A-bar distinction: A feature inheritance based account of preverbal DP in NSLs

A long-standing question in the syntax of null subject languages (NSLs) has been whether preverbal DP is a 'real' subject or a (clitic) left-dislocated element. Formally, is Spec,TP an A-position or an A-bar position? The problem arises because preverbal DP in these languages displays A- as well as A-bar properties. This paper proposes that Chomsky's recent framework of feature inheritance can have a straightforward answer. Specifically, the paper argues that Spec,TP is generally an A-position, which becomes an A-bar position if T inherits the feature EF from C. EF is looked at here as a formal 'criterial' feature that can enter into a valuation relation. The paper extends the analysis to certain subject-related phenomena in Arabic (presumably borne out in other NSLs). It also considers certain facts from Arabic that seem to threaten the analysis, but ultimately smoothly fall out.