Jason Kandybowicz
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197509739
- eISBN:
- 9780197509777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197509739.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter develops the Anti-contiguity proposal based on the distribution of wh- in-situ in Krachi, Bono, Wasa, and Asante Twi. Embedded wh- in-situ is only allowed in Krachi and Bono. The chapter ...
More
This chapter develops the Anti-contiguity proposal based on the distribution of wh- in-situ in Krachi, Bono, Wasa, and Asante Twi. Embedded wh- in-situ is only allowed in Krachi and Bono. The chapter argues that a prohibition on wh- items phrasing with overt C at the level of Intonational Phrase (iP) underpins this distributional asymmetry. In these languages, the acceptability of embedded wh- in-situ correlates with the prosodic status of the immediately containing clause—embedded clauses are independent iPs in Krachi and Bono, but not in Wasa and Asante Twi. Thus, iP boundaries divide C from embedded interrogatives in Krachi and Bono, preventing the items from forming iP constituents. No such boundaries intervene between embedded C and wh- in Wasa and Asante Twi, yielding prosodic mappings in which the items phrase together. Consequently, embedded wh- in-situ is prosodically licit in Krachi and Bono, but not in Wasa or Asante Twi.Less
This chapter develops the Anti-contiguity proposal based on the distribution of wh- in-situ in Krachi, Bono, Wasa, and Asante Twi. Embedded wh- in-situ is only allowed in Krachi and Bono. The chapter argues that a prohibition on wh- items phrasing with overt C at the level of Intonational Phrase (iP) underpins this distributional asymmetry. In these languages, the acceptability of embedded wh- in-situ correlates with the prosodic status of the immediately containing clause—embedded clauses are independent iPs in Krachi and Bono, but not in Wasa and Asante Twi. Thus, iP boundaries divide C from embedded interrogatives in Krachi and Bono, preventing the items from forming iP constituents. No such boundaries intervene between embedded C and wh- in Wasa and Asante Twi, yielding prosodic mappings in which the items phrase together. Consequently, embedded wh- in-situ is prosodically licit in Krachi and Bono, but not in Wasa or Asante Twi.
Jason Kandybowicz
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197509739
- eISBN:
- 9780197509777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197509739.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter focuses on the syntax and prosody of wh- in-situ in Krachi. In Krachi, wh- in-situ is available in both root and embedded contexts. Prosodically, embedded complement clauses in the ...
More
This chapter focuses on the syntax and prosody of wh- in-situ in Krachi. In Krachi, wh- in-situ is available in both root and embedded contexts. Prosodically, embedded complement clauses in the language are parsed as independent Intonational Phrases. The distribution of wh- in-situ in the language is considered against the backdrop of Richards’s (2010, 2016) Contiguity Theory. Given the prosodic facts previously mentioned, Contiguity Theory is shown to be incapable of accounting for long-distance wh- in-situ in the language, motivating an “anti-contiguity” theory of the prosody of wh- and C at the syntax-phonology interface.Less
This chapter focuses on the syntax and prosody of wh- in-situ in Krachi. In Krachi, wh- in-situ is available in both root and embedded contexts. Prosodically, embedded complement clauses in the language are parsed as independent Intonational Phrases. The distribution of wh- in-situ in the language is considered against the backdrop of Richards’s (2010, 2016) Contiguity Theory. Given the prosodic facts previously mentioned, Contiguity Theory is shown to be incapable of accounting for long-distance wh- in-situ in the language, motivating an “anti-contiguity” theory of the prosody of wh- and C at the syntax-phonology interface.
