On the Symmetry of V2 in Yiddish and Some of Its Consequences for Extraction

Abstract

This paper examines the distribution of V2 in Yiddish and its effects on extraction. Specifically, we show that both Spec-to-Spec antilocality (Erlewine 2020) and minimality (Rizzi 2006) constrain wh-extractions from embedded clauses in Yiddish. This explains the pattern of that-trace effects in Yiddish, as well as the apparent absence of an escape hatch in certain constructions.