This paper offers a functional explanation for the existence and for the special properties of movement rules in natural languages. The hypothesis is advanced that raising, lowering, and fronting rules all serve the function of increasing the prominence of objective content in surface structure. (CK)

An underlying representation for passive sentences in Mojave and Uto-Aztecan is proposed, and the broader issues that arise in extending the analysis to other languages and incorporating it in linguistic theory as a substantive language universal are explored. (Author/RM)