SCRAMBLING AND LAST RESORT

Under the standard analysis (e.g., Fukui 1993, Saito 1985, 1992), scra mbling in Japanese raises a serious problem for the last resort view o f Move a, since it is considered to involve optional overt movement th at has no driving force. In this article we propose a new analysis of scrambling that puts scrambling in conformity with the Last Resort pri nciple. We argue that scrambled elements are base-generated in their s urface non-theta-positions and undergo obligatory LF movement to the p osition where they receive theta-roles, which we consider to be formal features capable of driving movement. We show that our LF analysis of scrambling is both conceptually and empirically superior to the stand ard optional overt movement analysis.