Language-Particular processes and the earliness principle

1.1 Economy of Derivation In a recent paper, Chomsky (1989) has proposed two principles which choose among competing transformational derivations. He calls them principles of “Economy of Derivation”. These are the Least Effort principle and the Last Resort principle, seen in (1a-b). (The _________ _________ _ nomenclature is partially my own: Chomsky uses the term “Principle of Least Effort” for (1a-b) together.)