Constraining (shifting) types at the interface

Abstract

This paper argues that traces only range over individual semantic types and cannot be
type shifted into higher types to circumvent this restriction. The evidence comes from movement
targeting positions where DPs must denote properties and the behavior of definite descriptions
in these positions. These constraints on possible traces demonstrate that syntactic operations
impose active restrictions on permissible semantic types in natural language.
Keywords: semantic types, traces, movement, reconstruction, type shifting, properties.