This thesis investigates some consequences of the theory of formal feature-checking in the minimalist program for linguistic theory (Chomsky 1992, 1994a, 1995b). More specifically, I will explore the significance and implications of the theory of multiple feature-checking. The main purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate that the theory of multiple feature-checking enables us to give a natural and consistent explanation of some less-familiar phenomena in the literature under the generative tradition, phenomena in which some of the grammatical functions alleged to be associated with a certain grammatical relation are split up fromthem into some others (Grammatical Function Splitting).
Part I offers a brief sketch on the previous studies on "grammatical relation" and "grammatical function" (Chapter 1) and concise introduction of the fundamentals of the theory of multiple feature-checking together with the other minimalist notations/techniques particularly prerequisite to the discussions that follow in this thesis (Chaopter 2).
In Part II (Chapter 3 and 4), it is shown that some raising constructions, which have been scarcely studied in the liteature under the Principle-and-Parameters approach, can be offered a consistent account by the theory of multiple feature-checking.
Part III (Chapter 5 and 6) argues that the theory of multiple feature-checking provides a clue for elucidating the optionality of movement, which is sometimes alleged to be seriously problematic under the theory of economy and movement in the minimalist program of Chomsky (1992, 1994a).
Part IV (Chapter 7, 8, 9, and 10) deals directly with phenomena involving grammatical function splitting. There it is demonstrated that these varieties of grammatical function splitting can be given a natural and consistent explanation with the aid of the theory of multiple feature-checking.
Concluding remarks together with a comment on the further applications of the theory of multiple feature-checking will come in Chapter 11.