WH movement 3Oct. 19, 2012 – Day 21Introduction to Syntax

ANTH 3590/7590

Harry Howard

Tulane University

Course management

http://www.tulane.edu/~howard/ANTH3590/ We need to spend our $150 from the

Provost’s Undergraduate Activities Fund.

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REVIEW

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EMBEDDED WH QUESTION TREE (5.26)

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TP

T’PRNshe

AuxPTAf3sPast

C[EF]

ø

VPAuxwas

Vdating

PRNwho

C’

VP

wonder CP

PRNwho

-----

----

was+

-----

From now on, I will collapse the creation of the specifier and the movement to it into a single step.

T’PRNshe

AuxPTAf3sPast

C[TNS, EF]

ø

VPAuxwas

Vdating

Qwhich

C’

QP

Nactor

REVIEW: MOVE Q WITHOUT N (5.39)

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TP

was+

-----

was+Af3sPast+

-------------

-----

CP

Qwhich

-------

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•Chain Uniformity•Attract Smallest Condition•Left-branch Condition

Pied-piping of superordinate prepositionsRadford §5.6

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Introduction Some data

49) They asked to whom he was referring. The problem

Whom is the smallest maximal projection containing an interrogative word, so it should move without the preposition, giving:

They asked who(m) he was referring to.Which is grammatical, but not the sentence we want.

Solution: impenetrability51) A constituent in the domain of a complementizer or preposition is impenetrable to (and so cannot be attracted by) a higher head c-commanding the complementizer or preposition.Thus the whole PP can be attracted up to C.

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PREPOSITION STRANDING

But impenetrability prevents us from deriving the colloquial version of this sentence:52) They asked whom he was referring to.

There must be some way to get the interrogative word out of the c-command domain of the preposition.

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T’PRNhe

AuxPTAf3sPast

C[EF]

ø

VPAuxwas

Vreferring

Pto

C’

PP

PRNwhom

INITIAL STRUCTURE FOR AN EMBEDDED CLAUSE (5.50)

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TP

was+

-----

T’PRNhe

AuxPTAf3sPast

C[EF]

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VPAuxwas

Vreferring

P[EF]to

C’

PP

PRNwhom

ADD AN EDGE FEATURE FOR P (AND A SPECIFIER)

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TP

was+

-----

P’

T’PRNhe

AuxPTAf3sPast

C[EF]

ø

VPAuxwas

Vreferring

P[EF]to

C’

PP

PRNwho

THE WH PRONOUN IS ATTRACTED TO SPEC OF PP (5.55) AND THEN ON UP TO SPEC OF CP 1

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TP

was+

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P’PRNwho

------------

CP

Qwho

-------

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REMAINING DETAILS

Evidence for the edge feature of P in informal English (56) Speaker A: He has been talking to someone. Speaker B: Who to? Speaker B: *Whom to?

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Long-distance wh-movementRadford §5.7

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Introduction

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What

What

CPVthink

C’

C[TNS, EF]

ø

TPC[EF]

PRNwho

Vdo

C’

T’

PRNthat

VP

VPT3sPast

CP

Tmight

T’

TP

PRhe

STRUCTURE FOR LONG-DISTANCE WH-MOVEMENT 1

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------

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PRNwho

------might+

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PRNwho

SOME CONSEQUENCES

Long-distance movement proceeds as a succession of short steps. If each intervening CP is called a cycle, then we

say that it proceeds in a successive-cyclic fashion.

It can also be called local, since the wh-expression is attracted to become the specifier of the closest C.

Each intervening C must have an edge feature.

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EVIDENCE FOR THE LOCALITY/SUCCESSIVE CYCLICITY OF WH-MOVEMENT

Quantifier stranding or floating in West Ulster English64) What all did you get for Christmas?65a) What all did you think that he’ll say that we should buy?65b) What did you think all that he’ll say that we should buy?65c) What did you think that he’ll say all that we should buy?65d) What did you think that he’ll say that we should buy all?

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EVIDENCE, CONT. Auxiliary inversion in Belfast English

What did Mary claim they stole? What did Mary claim did they steal? (68)

Reflexive anaphors69a) Jim was surprised that Peter wasn’t sure that

Mary liked this picture of himself best.69b) Jim was surprised that Peter wasn’t sure

which picture of himself Mary liked best.cf. (72) Peter wasn’t sure which picture of himself

Mary liked best. WH-copying in child English

73a) What do you think what Cookie Monster eats?73b) How do you think how Superman fixed the

car.

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*

TOO MUCH MOVEMENT

A final datum74a) She might ask where he has been.74b) Where might she ask he has been.

Freezing constraint (75)An element moved to a position dedicated to some scope-discourse interpretive property … is frozen in place.

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*

NEXT TIMEQ6

Continue WH movement

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