Verb second in Estonian and the syntax-prosody relation

Abstract Estonian declarative main clauses display a relatively strict verb-second (V2) order, resembling Germanic V2. However, two prosody-conditioned exceptions distinguish Estonian from Germanic: verb-third occurs with weak proforms in the ‘EPP-position’ and with nuclear-stressed finite verbs. We claim that the derivation of Estonian V2 differs from Germanic. The Estonian left periphery resembles Finnish, a closely related but non-V2 language. In both languages, finite verbs move to the highest T-domain head and a phrasal category moves to the specifier of this head, the EPP-position. Estonian V2 with its exceptions results from “Weak Start,” a prosodic constraint blocking spell-out of the highest copy of the chain derived by movement to the EPP-position when another phrasal constituent occupies the C-domain.