5 Wh-movement

1
5 Wh-movement
2
5.2 Wh-questions

• a. What languages can you speak?
• b. Which one would you like?
• c. Who was she dating?
• d. Where are you going?
• (2) wh-in-situ questions (echo questions in
  English)
• a. You can speak what languages?
• b. You would like which one?
• c. She was dating who?
• d. You are going where? in-situ
  (i.e. in place)

3
Who was she dating?

• CP
• Spec C
• Who C
  TP
• T C PRN
  T
• was Ø she T
  VP
• (1)
  was dating who
• (2)
• (1) head movement (2) wh-movement
• Wh-movement moves maximal projections

4
(5) Complementiser Condition

• An overt complementiser (like
  that/for/if) cannot
• have an overt specifier in the
  superficial structure
• of a sentence
• Cf. whthat
• (4) Belfast English (Henry 1995, 107)
• a. I wonder which dish that they picked
• b. They didnt know which model that we
  had discussed
• (5) Standard English
• a. I wonder what kind of party that they
  have in mind
• b.I wonder what that they have in mind

5
Wh-movement internal merge
(Chomsky 2001)

• Internal merge movement operations by which an
  item
• contained within
  an existing structure is
• moved to a new
  position within the
• same structure
• External merge merger operations which involve
• taking an item
  out of the lexical array
• cf. head movement adjunction operation by
  which
• one
  head is adjoined to another

6
Trace/trace copies in wh-movement

• Evidence I
• - Have-cliticisation
• (8) I have/Ive been to Rome more often than I
  have/Ive to Paris
• 
  (I have been)
• (9) Cliticisation is barred when a clitic is
  followed by a null constituent
• (12) a. I wonder how much money they have in
  their bank account
• b. I wonder how much money theyve t in
  their bank account
• 
  how much money
• 
  copying deletion

7
Trace/trace copies in wh-movement

• Evidence II
• - Preposition copying (in relative clause)
• (14) c. that fair for which love groand for
  
• 
  (Prologue to Act II. Romeo and
  Juliet)
• In present day English
• (15) a. but if this ever-changing world in which
  we live in
• makes you give in and cry, say Live
  and Let Die
• (Sir Paul McCartney, theme song
  from the James Bond movie Live and Let Die)
• b. IKEA only actually has ten stores from
  which to sell from
• 
  (Economics
  reporter, BBC Radio 5)

8
- Split / discontinuous spellout

• (21) What hope of finding any survivors could
• there be what hope of finding any
  survivors
• (22) Joe wonders which picture of himself Jim
  bought
• (23) Joe wonders which picture of himselfi
• Jimi bought which picture of himself

- Reflexive reading
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5.4 Driving wh-movement auxiliaty inversion

• Edge feature EF
• (26-7) The EF on C enables it to attract the
  wh-pronoun where to Spec, CP.
• CP
  EF is always deleted when satisfied
  in English.
• PRN/ADV C
• where C TP
• EF PRN
  T
• Ø you
  T VP
• 
  are V PRN/ADV
• 
  going where
• (25) He wants to know where you are going

10
(24) Interrogative Condition A clause is
interpreted as a non-echoic question iff it is a
CP with an interrogative specifier
(i.e. a specifier containing an interrogative
word)

• (28) Who were you phoning?
  (Merge Move, and then Delete)
• (29-30) CP
• PRN C
• who C TP
• TNS, EF PRN
  T
• wereØ you T
  VP
• 
  were V PRN
• 
  phoning who

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Null yes-no question particle whether

• Evidence-1 Elizabethan English
• (32) a. Whether had you rather lead mine eyes or
  eye your masters heels?
• (Mrs Page, Merry Wives of Windsor,
  III.ii)
• b. Whether does thou profess thyself a
  knave or a fool?
• (Lafeu, Alls Well That Ends Well,
  IV.v)
• Evidence-2 yes-no questions introduced by
  whether in reported speech
• (33) a. Are you feeling better?, he asked.
• b. He asked whether I was feeling better
• Evidence-3 yes-no answers
• (34) a. When he asked Did you vote for
  L.Loudmouth?, I said yes and you
• said no
• b. When he asked whether we voted for L.
  Loudmouth, I said
• Evidence-4 can be tagged by or not
• (35) a. Has he finished or not?
• b. I cant say whether he has finished or
  not

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(40) Chain Uniformity ConditionA chain is
uniform with regard to phrase structure status

(Chomsky 1995, 253)

• (39) Which have you done which assignment?
• XP X
  (violates CUC)
• (37) Which assignment have you done?
  (Pied-piping)
• (41) Attract Smallest Condition/ASC
  (explains 37)
• A head which attracts a particular type of
  item attracts the smallest constituent containing
  such an item which will not lead to violation of
  any UG principle.
• we move wh-word on its own wherever possible,
  but if it were prevented, then we move the next
  smallest possible constituent containing the
  wh-word

13
(44) Economy Condition Derivations and
representationsare required to be
minimal, with no superfluous steps
in derivations and no superfluous symbols
in representations.
(Chomsky 1989, 69)

• (47) Left Branch Condition/LBC In languages
  like English, the leftmost constituent
• of a nominal expression cannot be
  extracted out of
• the expression containing it.
• 
  (Ross, 1967)
• Nominal expressions DP, QP

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5.6 Pied-piping of a superordinate prepositionEF
of C triggers mvnt, to Spec-C, of the smallest
maximal projection containing WH-word (cf. T in
finite clauses carries an EPP feature)

• (49) They asked to whom he was referring
• (50) CP
• PP C
• to whom C TP
• EF PRN
  T
• Ø he
  T VP
• 
  was V PP
• 
  referring P PRN
• 
  to whom
• 
  PIC

15
(51) Impenetrability Condition

• A constituent in the domain of a
  complementiser or preposition is impenetrable to
  (and so cannot be attracted by) a higher head
  c-commanding the relevant complementiser/prepositi
  on.
• prevents preposition stranding
• Cf. (52) They asked who he was referring to
  PP
• (53) b. How far did they go inside the
  tunnel? Spec P
• (54) PP how far P P inside the
  tunnel how far
• wh-Spec
  
  P NP
• 
  PIC
  inside the tunnel
• The Impenetrability Condition only bars
  extraction of a constituent in the domain of
  (i.e. c-commanded by) the preposition, and the
  specifier how far is not c-commanded by the
  preposition inside.
• gt The IPC allows material to be extracted from
  the edge of a Prepositional Phrase, but not from
  its (c-command) domain.

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(52) they asked who he was referring to

• (50) CP
• Spec C
• who C TP
• EF PRN
  T
• Ø he
  T VP
• 
  was V PP
• 
  referring PRN P
• 
  who P PRN
• 
  EF
  who
• 
  to

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(57) What might he think that she is hiding what?

• (63) CP
• Spec C
• what C TP
• mightØ PRN T
• he T
  VP
• might
  V CP
• 
  think PRN C
• 
  what C TP
• 
  that she is hiding what
• 
  

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(57) What might he think that she is hiding what?

• (63) CP
• Spec C
• what C TP
• mightØ PRN T
• he T
  VP
• might
  V CP
• 
  think PRN C
• 
  what C TP
• 
  that she is hiding what
• 
  

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Quantifier stranding/floating McCloskey (2000,
2002)

• (64) What all did you get for Christmas?
• What are all the things which you got
  for Christmas?
• (65) a. What all do you think that hell say that
  we should buy?
• b. What do you think all that hell say
  that we should buy?
• c. What do you think that hell say all
  that we should buy?
• d. What do you think that hell say that
  we should buy all?
• (66) CP What all C that we should buy

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5.8 Multiple wh-questions

• (76) a. He might think that who has done what?
• b. Who might think that he has done what?
• c. What might he think that who has
  done?
• d. Who what might he think that has
  done?
• e. What who might he think has done?
• (78) Attract Closest Condition
• A head which attracts a given kind of
  constituent
• attracts the closest constituent of the
  relevant kind.
• (79) Wh-Attraction Condition
• The edge feature on C attracts the
  smallest possible maximal projection
• containing the closest wh-word to move to
  spec-C

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(76) c. Who might he think has done what?

• (82) CP
• Spec C
• who C TP
• TNS, EF PRN T
• mightØ he T
  VP
• might
  V CP
• 
  think PRN C
• 
  who has done what
•