Extraposition and the directionality of movement

This paper deals with extraposition of relative clauses in English and German. Through the examination of data, it will be argued that extraposition in English is a syntactic movement with effects at LF, while it is a phonological operation in German. Based on the concept of directionality and optionality of movement, I will try to give an account for this hitherto unnoticed contrast between the two languages. Specifically, I propose that operations giving rise to non-canonical ordering of elements are more severely restricted, blocking movement of certain features. My analysis will be further confirmed by relevant data from Japanese.