scholarly journals Coordinated Multiple Wh-questions in Wh-in-situ Languages: A Mono-Clausal Movement Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-125
Author(s):  
Yeun-Jin Jung
Keyword(s):  
Movement Analysis ◽  
Wh Questions

Japanese wh-phrases as operators with unspecified quantificational force

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamoru Saito
Keyword(s):  
Movement Analysis ◽  
Covert Movement ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Unselective Binding ◽  
Existential Quantification ◽  
Prevailing View ◽  
Operator Variable ◽  
Probe Particles

Abstract Japanese wh-expressions appear in various kinds of operator-variable structures, including wh-questions and sentences with universal and existential quantification. The nature of the operator-variable relation is determined by an associated particle, such as the question marker ka or the universal particle mo. Given this, it has been widely assumed since Kuroda (1965) that the wh-expressions are to be interpreted as variables bound by those quantificational particles. This paper argues against this prevailing view by proposing that these wh-expressions are operators with unspecified quantificational force. Building on an insight by Nishigauchi (1990), I argue that they must covertly move to positions that allow them to probe particles and to acquire specific quantificational forces from them. I demonstrate that this analysis captures the main properties of Japanese wh-expressions as well as the differences between them and their Chinese counterparts. Huang (1982) proposed a covert movement analysis for argument wh-phrases in Chinese, which was extended to Japanese, for example, in Lasnik & Saito (1984) and Richards (2001). But Tsai (1999) has convincingly shown that they are subject to unselective binding and are interpreted in situ as variables. If the analysis for Japanese in this paper is correct, it shows that Huang’s approach can be – and should be – maintained for wh-phrases in Japanese with some refinements.

scholarly journals D-linking and the semantics of wh-in-situ

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 448
Author(s):  
Joshua Martin
Keyword(s):  
Wh Questions

Theories of pair-list readings of multiple wh-questions commonly posit an interpretive asymmetry between the fronted and in-situ wh-phrases, where the fronted wh-phrase is argued to function as the sortal key, have a requirement to be interpreted exhaustively, or be obligatorily D-linked. To clarify the empirical landscape of such debate, I present three experiments which tease apart the effects of these often-confounded discourse factors on the order and interpretation of multiple wh-questions. They are found to have either inconsistent or insignificant effects, arguing against a unique discourse-sensitivity of the fronted wh-phrase. Theories of questions which encode such an asymmetry should accordingly be revised.

Japanese speakers' second language Chinese wh-questions: a lexical morphological feature deficit account

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boping Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Morphological Feature ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
Wh Questions

In this article, an empirical study of how Chinese wh-questions are mentally represented in Japanese speakers' grammars of Chinese as a second language (L2) is reported. Both Chinese and Japanese are generally considered wh-in-situ languages in which a wh-word is allowed to remain in its base-generated position, and both languages use question particles to mark questions. It is assumed that C0 in wh-questions is essentially ambiguous and unvalued and that unvalued C0 must be valued. In Chinese, the wh-particle ne values C0 with [+Q, +wh] features, which licenses the wh-word in situ. As a result, no wh-movement is necessary and Subjacency becomes irrelevant. Japanese also employs question particles, such as ka or no. However, they are `defective' in the sense that they can only value the ambiguous C0 as [+Q] and they are unable to specify the question as to whether it is [+yes/no] or [+wh]. To value C0 as a head with [+wh], a wh-operator in a wh -word inside the sentence has to raise overtly to C0. The results of an acceptability judgement task show that although the Japanese speakers respond in a broadly target-like way, the lexical morphological feature [+wh] of the particle ne in their L2 Chinese lexicons is permanently deficient, which leads to variability in their intuitions about Chinese wh-questions. A lexical morphological feature deficit account for the results is proposed, and it is suggested that the lexical morphology—syntax interface can be a source of variability in L2 acquisition.

Scope Marking at the Syntax-Semantics Interface

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veneeta Dayal ◽  
Deepak Alok
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Embedded Clauses ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Semantic Properties

Natural language allows questioning into embedded clauses. One strategy for doing so involves structures like the following: [CP-1 whi [TP DP V [CP-2 … ti …]]], where a wh-phrase that thematically belongs to the embedded clause appears in the matrix scope position. A possible answer to such a question must specify values for the fronted wh-phrase. This is the extraction strategy seen in languages like English. An alternative strategy involves a structure in which there is a distinct wh-phrase in the matrix clause. It is manifested in two types of structures. One is a close analog of extraction, but for the extra wh-phrase: [CP-1 whi [TP DP V [CP-2 whj [TP…t­j­…]]]]. The other simply juxtaposes two questions, rather than syntactically subordinating the second one: [CP-3 [CP-1 whi [TP…]] [CP-2 whj [TP…]]]. In both versions of the second strategy, the wh-phrase in CP-1 is invariant, typically corresponding to the wh-phrase used to question propositional arguments. There is no restriction on the type or number of wh-phrases in CP-2. Possible answers must specify values for all the wh-phrases in CP-2. This strategy is variously known as scope marking, partial wh movement or expletive wh questions. Both strategies can occur in the same language. German, for example, instantiates all three possibilities: extraction, subordinated, as well as sequential scope marking. The scope marking strategy is also manifested in in-situ languages. Scope marking has been subjected to 30 years of research and much is known at this time about its syntactic and semantic properties. Its pragmatics properties, however, are relatively under-studied. The acquisition of scope marking, in relation to extraction, is another area of ongoing research. One of the reasons why scope marking has intrigued linguists is because it seems to defy central tenets about the nature of wh scope taking. For example, it presents an apparent mismatch between the number of wh expressions in the question and the number of expressions whose values are specified in the answer. It poses a challenge for our understanding of how syntactic structure feeds semantic interpretation and how alternative strategies with similar functions relate to each other.

Dissociating intervention effects from superiority in English wh-questions

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadas Kotek
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Semantic Theory ◽  
Natural Language Semantics ◽  
Intervention Effects ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Language Semantics ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Quantifier Raising ◽  
Comprehensive Study

Abstract In wh-questions, intervention effects are detected whenever certain elements – focus-sensitive operators, negative elements, and quantifiers – c-command an in-situ wh-word. Pesetsky (2000, Phrasal movement and its kin. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press) presents a comprehensive study of intervention effects in English multiple wh-questions, arguing that intervention correlates with superiority: superiority-violating questions are subject to intervention effects, while superiority-obeying questions are immune from such effects. This description has been adopted as an explanandum in most recent work on intervention, such as Beck (2006, Intervention effects follow from focus interpretation. Natural Language Semantics 14. 1–56) and Cable (2010, The Grammar of Q: Q-particles, wh-movement, and pied-piping. Oxford University Press), a.o. In this paper, I show instead that intervention effects in English questions correlate with the available LF positions for wh-in-situ and the intervener, but not with superiority. The grammar allows for several different ways of repairing intervention configurations, including wh-movement, scrambling, Quantifier Raising, and reconstruction. Intervention effects are observed when none of these repair strategies are applicable, and there is no way of avoiding the intervention configuration – regardless of superiority. Nonetheless, I show that these results are consistent with the syntax proposed for English questions in Pesetsky (2000, Phrasal movement and its kin. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press) and with the semantic theory of intervention effects in Beck (2006, Intervention effects follow from focus interpretation. Natural Language Semantics 14. 1–56).

On Wh-questions in Persian

2001 ◽  
Vol 46 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 41-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arsalan Kahnemuyipour
Keyword(s):  
Focus Position ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Focus Movement

AbstractThis article explores wh-questions in Persian and examines how the “clausal typing hypothesis” and the “focus-fronting analysis” fare with respect to Persian wh-questions. It is shown that Persian wh-questions involve obligatory movement of wh-phrases to a preverbal focus position. This movement is different from syntactic wh-movement in that it does not involve movement of the wh-phrase to [Spec, CP], whose trigger is a [+wh] feature in C. Thus, in terms of the typology of wh-questions, Persian is neither a syntactic wh-movement nor a wh-in-situ language; rather, it should be classified with languages such as Aghem, Basque, Hungarian, Kirundi, and Serbo-Croatian, in which wh-phrases have been argued to undergo focus movement. It is shown that Persian does not seem to share the properties of Serbo-Croatian, another focus-fronting language. Some possible explanations are provided and the theoretical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals EEG Correlates of Long-Distance Dependency Formation in Mandarin Wh-Questions

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Wen Lo ◽  
Jonathan R. Brennan
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Anterior Negativity ◽  
With Memory

Event-related potential components are sensitive to the processes underlying how questions are understood. We use so-called “covert” wh-questions in Mandarin to probe how such components generalize across different kinds of constructions. This study shows that covert Mandarin wh-questions do not elicit anterior negativities associated with memory maintenance, even when such a dependency is unambiguously cued. N = 37 native speakers of Mandarin Chinese read Chinese questions and declarative sentences word-by-word during EEG recording. In contrast to prior studies, no sustained anterior negativity (SAN) was observed between the cue word, such as the question-embedding verb “wonder,” and the in-situ wh-filler. SANs have been linked with working memory maintenance, suggesting that grammatical features may not impose the same maintenance demands as the content words used in prior work.

scholarly journals Derivational Complexity in EFL Learners’ Development of Bi-clausal Wh-questions

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Jung-Tae Kim
Keyword(s):  
English Proficiency ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Korean Learners ◽  
Korean Efl Learners

This paper aims to investigate Korean learners’ interlanguage with respect to the production of English bi-clausal wh-questions. One hundred seven adult Korean-speaking learners of English in three proficiency groups took part in a production task designed to elicit English bi-clausal wh-questions. The study specifically asked what interlanguage structures Korean EFL learners would produce and whether the structures would change as learners’ English proficiency advances. The results revealed that Korean EFL learners produced a range of alternative bi-clausal structures, including wh-scope marking, silent scope marking, wh-scope marking with embedded wh-in-situ, L1 clause order, and wh-about-wh type constructions. Comparison of three proficiency groups showed that as the learners’ English proficiency increases, they tend to produce an increasing number of derivationally more complex alternatives. It is argued that derivational complexity plays a role in the developmental process of Korean EFL learners’ interlanguage for bi-clausal wh-questions.

scholarly journals Against 'Long' Movement of the Superlative Operator

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Sharvit ◽  
Penka Stateva
Keyword(s):  
Propositional Attitude ◽  
Movement Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
High Grade ◽  
De Re ◽  
Base Position ◽  
Considerable Debate ◽  
Operator Movement

It is a matter of considerable debate whether degree operators are interpreted in their base position or in some higher position. Kennedy ( 1 997) has shown that degree operators (e.g., the comparative operator) do not interact scopally with quantified expressions. On the other hand, Heim ( 1 999) and Stateva (to appear) have presented evidence that the superlative operator (as in the highest grade) interacts scopally with intensional predicates. This paper argues that despite the fact that the superlative operator seems to interact scopally with intensional predicates, the facts receive a better account under an in situ analysis, rather than a movement analysis, of the operator. This point will be made by (a) looking at examples where a superlative expression is embedded under a propositional attitude verb, and focussing on readings which are neither de re (in the strict sense) nor de dicto (in the strict sense); and (b) examining negative superlatives (e.g., the least high grade) in extensional contexts. Our conclusion will be that Kennedy' s claim that degree operator movement is highly restricted is correct.

Against 'Long' Movement of the Superlative Operator

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Yael Sharvit ◽  
Penka Stateva
Keyword(s):  
Propositional Attitude ◽  
Movement Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
High Grade ◽  
De Re ◽  
Base Position ◽  
Considerable Debate ◽  
Operator Movement

It is a matter of considerable debate whether degree operators are interpreted in their base position or in some higher position. Kennedy (1997) has shown that degree operators (e.g., the comparative operator) do not interact scopally with quantified expressions. On the other hand, Heim (1999) and Stateva (to appear) have presented evidence that the superlative operator (as in <it>the highest grade</it>) interacts scopally with intensional predicates. This paper argues that despite the fact that the superlative operator seems to interact scopally with intensional predicates, the facts receive a better account under an <it>in situ</it> analysis, rather than a movement analysis, of the operator. This point will be made by (a) looking at examples where a superlative expression is embedded under a propositional attitude verb, and focussing on readings which are neither <it>de re</it> (in the strict sense) nor <it>de dicto</it> (in the strict sense); and (b) examining negative superlatives (e.g., <it>the least high grade</it>) in extensional contexts. Our conclusion will be that Kennedy's claim that degree operator movement is highly restricted is correct.

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