Essays on the Representational and Derivational Nature of Grammar:
the diversity of wh-constructions
by
Joseph Aoun
Yen-Hui Audrey Li
Abstract
| This book can be read on two levels: as a novel empirical study of wh- interrogatives and relative constructions in a variety of languages and as a theoretical investigation of chain formation in grammar. |
| The book is divided into two parts. Part I investigates the distribution and interpretation of multiple wh- interrogative constructions, focusing on the workings of Superiority. Part II investigates the structure and derivation of relative constructions. The main languages discussed are Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, and English. The theoretical materials are in the generative grammar tradition. |
Part I:
Wh-interrogatives: superiority and interpretation
Chapter 1: Superiority and Movement
1.1. Superiority as a condition on movement
1.2. Superiority in non-movement structures
1.2.1. Wh-interrogatives in Lebanese Arabic
1.2.2. Superiority in wh-interrogatives
1.3. Superiority and movement
1.3.1. Pesetsky (2000)
1.3.2. Attract Closest in LA
1.4. Summary
Chapter 2: Superiority and the Minimal Match Constraint
2.1. Distinguishing resumptive pronouns from bound pronouns
2.2. Minimal Match Condition (MMC)
2.3. Superiority and which-phrases
2.4. MMC and other minimality conditions
2.4.1. Move and Match
2.4.2. The MMC and the MBR
2.5. Summary
Chapter 3: Superiority and Interpretation
3.1. Superiority and Weak Cross Over
3.1.1. Superiority and interpretation (Hornstein 1995)
3.1.2. Obligatory functional/pair-list interpretation?
3.1.3. Superiority not as WCO
3.2. Functional, distributional and pair-list interpretation
3.2.1. The interpretation of multiple wh interrogative constructions
3.2.2. The interpretation of QP/wh constructions
3.2.3. Distinguishing pair-list, distributive and functional interpretations
3.3. Generating interpretations
3.3.1. Pro-binding
3.3.2. Non-movement quantifier-dependency relation
3.3.3. Agree
3.3.4. Summary
3.4. Wh-quantifiers vs. wh-variables
3.5. Summary
Appendix to Part I
1. Additional wh-effect
2. Anti-superiority
Part II: Relativization: derivation and structure
Chapter 4: Head-initial Relative Constructions
4.1. Promotion vs. Matching (Operator movement)
4.1.1. The Promotion analysis
4.1.2. Wh-movement - the Matching analysis
4.1.3. Comparison
4.1.3.1. The obligatoriness of a DP structure
4.1.3.2. Selection relation between D and CP
4.1.3.3. External determiner
4.1.3.4. DP
4.1.3.5. Structure and derivation
4.2. English
4.2.1. Head-raising or not?
4.2.2. Operator movement
4.2.3. Determiner
4.2.4. Structure
4.2.5 Adjunct relativization
4.2.6. Summary
4.3. Relative constructions in LA
4.3.1. Reconstruction and Head-raising
4.3.2. What moves?
4.4. Summary
Chapter 5: Head-final Relative Constructions
5.1. Reconstruction in Chinese relativization
5.2. NP projection
5.3. Adjunction
5.4. Complementation structure
5.5. Summary
Chapter 6: Adjunction Structure and Derivation
6.1. Derivation
6.1.1. Licit movement
6.1.2. NP movement
6.2. Base generation
6.3. NP vs. adjunct
6.4. Null operator, null Head
6.5. Resumptive adjunct
6.6. Gapless structure
6.7. Chain binding?
6.8. Summary
Chapter 7: Typology of Relativization
7.1. Universal structure?
7.1.1. Universal adjunction structure?
7.1.1.1. Relative pronoun
7.1.1.2. Operator movement
7.1.1.3. Complementizer
7.1.1.4. Internally Headed relative clause
7.1.2. Problems with the universal adjunction structure
7.1.2.1. Problems with Chinese relative constructions
7.1.2.2. Problems with English and LA relative constructions
7.1.3. Summary
7.2. Derivation
7.2.2. Relativization
7.2.2.1. NP movement
7.2.2.2. Operator movement
7.2.2.3. DP movement
7.2.2.4. Summary
Notes
References