Seth Cable
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195392265
- eISBN:
- 9780199866526
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392265.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This book puts forth a novel syntactic and semantic analysis of wh-questions based upon in-depth study of the Tlingit language, an endangered and under-documented language of North America. A major ...
More
This book puts forth a novel syntactic and semantic analysis of wh-questions based upon in-depth study of the Tlingit language, an endangered and under-documented language of North America. A major consequence of this new approach is that the phenomenon classically dubbed pied-piping does not actually exist. The book begins by arguing that wh-fronting in Tlingit does not involve a syntactic relationship between interrogative C and the wh-word. Rather, it involves a probe/Agree relation between C and an overt ‘Q-particle’ (or ‘Q’) c-commanding the wh-word. Fronting of the wh-word in Tlingit is thus a mere by-product of fronting the QP projected by this Q. Given the strong similarity between the wh-constructions of Tlingit and those of more widely studied languages, this ‘Q-based’ analysis is applied to a range of other languages. Regarding so-called pied-piping structures, the Q-based theory provides an analysis in which the very concept of ‘pied-piping’ is eliminated from the theory of grammar. Furthermore, the account provides an especially minimal semantics for pied-piping structures, in which no mechanisms are needed beyond those required for simple wh-questions. Finally, the Q-based theory is able to capture certain constraints on pied-piping, as well as aspects of its variation across languages. Beyond its treatment of pied-piping, the Q-based theory also yields a novel syntax and semantics for multiple wh-questions that ties the presence of Superiority Effects to the absence of Intervention Effects. Furthermore, the account predicts a previously unnoticed Intervention Effect in English pied-piping structures. Finally, the Q-based theory provides a novel account of the ill-formedness of P-stranding and left branch extractions in many of the world’s languages.Less
This book puts forth a novel syntactic and semantic analysis of wh-questions based upon in-depth study of the Tlingit language, an endangered and under-documented language of North America. A major consequence of this new approach is that the phenomenon classically dubbed pied-piping does not actually exist. The book begins by arguing that wh-fronting in Tlingit does not involve a syntactic relationship between interrogative C and the wh-word. Rather, it involves a probe/Agree relation between C and an overt ‘Q-particle’ (or ‘Q’) c-commanding the wh-word. Fronting of the wh-word in Tlingit is thus a mere by-product of fronting the QP projected by this Q. Given the strong similarity between the wh-constructions of Tlingit and those of more widely studied languages, this ‘Q-based’ analysis is applied to a range of other languages. Regarding so-called pied-piping structures, the Q-based theory provides an analysis in which the very concept of ‘pied-piping’ is eliminated from the theory of grammar. Furthermore, the account provides an especially minimal semantics for pied-piping structures, in which no mechanisms are needed beyond those required for simple wh-questions. Finally, the Q-based theory is able to capture certain constraints on pied-piping, as well as aspects of its variation across languages. Beyond its treatment of pied-piping, the Q-based theory also yields a novel syntax and semantics for multiple wh-questions that ties the presence of Superiority Effects to the absence of Intervention Effects. Furthermore, the account predicts a previously unnoticed Intervention Effect in English pied-piping structures. Finally, the Q-based theory provides a novel account of the ill-formedness of P-stranding and left branch extractions in many of the world’s languages.
Seth Cable
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195392265
- eISBN:
- 9780199866526
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392265.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter continues the argument that the ‘Q-based’ account should be extended to all other wh-fronting languages. The focus of this chapter is the constraints on pied-piping in many of the ...
More
This chapter continues the argument that the ‘Q-based’ account should be extended to all other wh-fronting languages. The focus of this chapter is the constraints on pied-piping in many of the world’s languages, as well as the related phenomenon of so-called secondary wh-fronting. The chapter begins with a comparison of the pied-piping structures of Tlingit and English. It is shown that the latter are much more constrained than the former. This more restricted pied-piping found in English (and most other well-studied wh-fronting languages) is shown to follow from an assumption that ‘Q’ in these languages must undergo Agreement with the wh-word. The resulting theory is shown to make a number of other interesting predictions regarding the variation seen in pied-piping across languages. The remainder of the chapter concerns the methods that languages have for ‘obviating’ these constraints on pied-piping. The first, dubbed ‘secondary wh-fronting’, are cases where the wh-word undergoes movement internal to the pied-piped phrase. The second, dubbed ‘massive pied-piping’, are cases where the constraints on pied-piping appear weakened in some environments. Q-based analyses of both these phenomena are developed and defended.Less
This chapter continues the argument that the ‘Q-based’ account should be extended to all other wh-fronting languages. The focus of this chapter is the constraints on pied-piping in many of the world’s languages, as well as the related phenomenon of so-called secondary wh-fronting. The chapter begins with a comparison of the pied-piping structures of Tlingit and English. It is shown that the latter are much more constrained than the former. This more restricted pied-piping found in English (and most other well-studied wh-fronting languages) is shown to follow from an assumption that ‘Q’ in these languages must undergo Agreement with the wh-word. The resulting theory is shown to make a number of other interesting predictions regarding the variation seen in pied-piping across languages. The remainder of the chapter concerns the methods that languages have for ‘obviating’ these constraints on pied-piping. The first, dubbed ‘secondary wh-fronting’, are cases where the wh-word undergoes movement internal to the pied-piped phrase. The second, dubbed ‘massive pied-piping’, are cases where the constraints on pied-piping appear weakened in some environments. Q-based analyses of both these phenomena are developed and defended.
Seth Cable
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195392265
- eISBN:
- 9780199866526
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392265.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The wh-constructions of Tlingit are introduced, as are the central empirical and theoretical puzzles concerning pied-piping structures. The proposed ‘Q-based analysis’ of Tlingit wh-constructions is ...
More
The wh-constructions of Tlingit are introduced, as are the central empirical and theoretical puzzles concerning pied-piping structures. The proposed ‘Q-based analysis’ of Tlingit wh-constructions is sketched, as well as its potential consequences for the general theory of wh-fronting and pied-piping structures. These consequences include (i) elimination of the very concept of ‘pied-piping’ from the theory of grammar, and (ii) an account of ad-position stranding, whereby its ill-formedness is not a property of movement per se. Following this introductory discussion, the major results of the book are outlined.Less
The wh-constructions of Tlingit are introduced, as are the central empirical and theoretical puzzles concerning pied-piping structures. The proposed ‘Q-based analysis’ of Tlingit wh-constructions is sketched, as well as its potential consequences for the general theory of wh-fronting and pied-piping structures. These consequences include (i) elimination of the very concept of ‘pied-piping’ from the theory of grammar, and (ii) an account of ad-position stranding, whereby its ill-formedness is not a property of movement per se. Following this introductory discussion, the major results of the book are outlined.
Seth Cable
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195392265
- eISBN:
- 9780199866526
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392265.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter begins the argument that the ‘Q-based’ account should be extended to all other wh-fronting languages. It first presents some general typological and learning-theoretic arguments. These ...
More
This chapter begins the argument that the ‘Q-based’ account should be extended to all other wh-fronting languages. It first presents some general typological and learning-theoretic arguments. These include (i) the fact that the ‘Q-based’ account is transparently motivated for other wh-fronting languages (such as Edo), and (ii) the ability for the ‘Q-based’ account to provide a unified theory of the ill-formedness of P-stranding and left-branch extractions across languages. Following this, the consequences of the account for the theory of pied-piping structures are examined. In particular, it is shown that extending the ‘Q-based’ account to all other wh-fronting languages entails that the phenomenon dubbed ‘pied-piping’ need not exist at all. Finally, the chapter develops a ‘Q-based’ theory of multiple wh-questions in English and German. It is shown that the analysis predicts the complementary distribution of Superiority Effects and Intervention Effects in these languages. Finally, Intervention Effects in pied-piping structures are examined, and the ‘Q-based’ theory is shown to make an accurate (and surprising) prediction.Less
This chapter begins the argument that the ‘Q-based’ account should be extended to all other wh-fronting languages. It first presents some general typological and learning-theoretic arguments. These include (i) the fact that the ‘Q-based’ account is transparently motivated for other wh-fronting languages (such as Edo), and (ii) the ability for the ‘Q-based’ account to provide a unified theory of the ill-formedness of P-stranding and left-branch extractions across languages. Following this, the consequences of the account for the theory of pied-piping structures are examined. In particular, it is shown that extending the ‘Q-based’ account to all other wh-fronting languages entails that the phenomenon dubbed ‘pied-piping’ need not exist at all. Finally, the chapter develops a ‘Q-based’ theory of multiple wh-questions in English and German. It is shown that the analysis predicts the complementary distribution of Superiority Effects and Intervention Effects in these languages. Finally, Intervention Effects in pied-piping structures are examined, and the ‘Q-based’ theory is shown to make an accurate (and surprising) prediction.
Theresa Biberauer and Ian Roberts
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199560547
- eISBN:
- 9780191721267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560547.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Historical Linguistics
This chapter reconsiders the role of the Subset Principle in language acquisition and change, arguing that consideration of true formal optionality enables one to define grammars generating languages ...
More
This chapter reconsiders the role of the Subset Principle in language acquisition and change, arguing that consideration of true formal optionality enables one to define grammars generating languages that are in inclusion relations. This in turn facilitates an explanation of diachronic changes where absence of sufficiently robust PLD led acquirers to ‘default’ to ‘smaller language’‐generating grammars.Less
This chapter reconsiders the role of the Subset Principle in language acquisition and change, arguing that consideration of true formal optionality enables one to define grammars generating languages that are in inclusion relations. This in turn facilitates an explanation of diachronic changes where absence of sufficiently robust PLD led acquirers to ‘default’ to ‘smaller language’‐generating grammars.
Veneeta Dayal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199281268
- eISBN:
- 9780191757396
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199281268.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Theoretical Linguistics
This chapter asks whether wh in-situ can violate islands. The semantic challenge posed by pied piping of DPs/PPs, in English or in-situ languages, is discussed. One solution is to reconstruct. ...
More
This chapter asks whether wh in-situ can violate islands. The semantic challenge posed by pied piping of DPs/PPs, in English or in-situ languages, is discussed. One solution is to reconstruct. Another is to interpret the wh with scope over the island. Long-distance answers pairing a matrix wh with wh inside wh islands are considered. They can support the view that covert scope taking is island insensitive. Or the wh can be interpreted at the site of the island to yield a family of questions, with the list pairing the family of questions with the matrix wh. Adjunct islands raise similar questions. Either the wh inside them are impervious to syntactic constraints or there are mechanisms to interpret them locally. Single-pair vs. multiple-pair answers and their theoretical implications are discussed, as are trapped list answers. Co-ordinate structures and issues related to D-linking and scope are also discussed.Less
This chapter asks whether wh in-situ can violate islands. The semantic challenge posed by pied piping of DPs/PPs, in English or in-situ languages, is discussed. One solution is to reconstruct. Another is to interpret the wh with scope over the island. Long-distance answers pairing a matrix wh with wh inside wh islands are considered. They can support the view that covert scope taking is island insensitive. Or the wh can be interpreted at the site of the island to yield a family of questions, with the list pairing the family of questions with the matrix wh. Adjunct islands raise similar questions. Either the wh inside them are impervious to syntactic constraints or there are mechanisms to interpret them locally. Single-pair vs. multiple-pair answers and their theoretical implications are discussed, as are trapped list answers. Co-ordinate structures and issues related to D-linking and scope are also discussed.
Ian Roberts
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262014304
- eISBN:
- 9780262289726
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014304.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
According to Noam Chomsky, Move is the combination of Agree, Merge, and Pied-pipe. It decomposes into three more primitive operations, whereas Merge takes two syntactic objects—α and β—and forms a ...
More
According to Noam Chomsky, Move is the combination of Agree, Merge, and Pied-pipe. It decomposes into three more primitive operations, whereas Merge takes two syntactic objects—α and β—and forms a new object, and is therefore the basic combinatorial operation of narrow syntax. Agree holds between α and β having interpretable and uninterpretable inflectional features, respectively. This chapter examines three possible ways of eliminating head movement from narrow syntax: structure preservation, chain uniformity, and the A-over-A Condition. It shows that the A-over-A Condition, but not structure preservation and chain uniformity, offers a viable way of forcing pied-piping of the maximal projection of the goal.Less
According to Noam Chomsky, Move is the combination of Agree, Merge, and Pied-pipe. It decomposes into three more primitive operations, whereas Merge takes two syntactic objects—α and β—and forms a new object, and is therefore the basic combinatorial operation of narrow syntax. Agree holds between α and β having interpretable and uninterpretable inflectional features, respectively. This chapter examines three possible ways of eliminating head movement from narrow syntax: structure preservation, chain uniformity, and the A-over-A Condition. It shows that the A-over-A Condition, but not structure preservation and chain uniformity, offers a viable way of forcing pied-piping of the maximal projection of the goal.
Mark Steedman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262017077
- eISBN:
- 9780262301404
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262017077.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This chapter focuses on the Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG), a strongly lexicalized theory of grammar in which grammatical categories consist of a syntactic type defining valency, along with a ...
More
This chapter focuses on the Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG), a strongly lexicalized theory of grammar in which grammatical categories consist of a syntactic type defining valency, along with a logical form and a phonological form. It also discusses the Categorial Lexicon, the sole repository of language-specific information whose sounds and meanings are projected by a small universal set of type-driven combinatory syntactic rules onto the sounds and meanings of all and only the sentences of the language. CCG includes a number of restricted combinatory operations for combining categories that are strictly limited to various combinations of operations of type raising, composition, and substitution. Both reflexive/reciprocal binding and control are bounded under Condition A of the binding theory—that is, they relate elements within a single verbal domain. The chapter also examines relativization and relative pronouns, embedded subject extraction, pied-piping of wh-items such as which and who(m) in noun phrases, coordination of conjunctions, and the expressive power and computational complexity of CCG. Finally, it compares CCG with Categorial Type Logic and Lambek grammars.Less
This chapter focuses on the Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG), a strongly lexicalized theory of grammar in which grammatical categories consist of a syntactic type defining valency, along with a logical form and a phonological form. It also discusses the Categorial Lexicon, the sole repository of language-specific information whose sounds and meanings are projected by a small universal set of type-driven combinatory syntactic rules onto the sounds and meanings of all and only the sentences of the language. CCG includes a number of restricted combinatory operations for combining categories that are strictly limited to various combinations of operations of type raising, composition, and substitution. Both reflexive/reciprocal binding and control are bounded under Condition A of the binding theory—that is, they relate elements within a single verbal domain. The chapter also examines relativization and relative pronouns, embedded subject extraction, pied-piping of wh-items such as which and who(m) in noun phrases, coordination of conjunctions, and the expressive power and computational complexity of CCG. Finally, it compares CCG with Categorial Type Logic and Lambek grammars.
Chris Barker and Chung-Chieh Shan
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199575015
- eISBN:
- 9780191757419
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199575015.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
Chapter 5 extends the fragment to handle wh‐question formation by introducing the type‐shifter FRONT. This type‐shifter captures the systematic syntactic relationship between in‐situ wh‐questions and ...
More
Chapter 5 extends the fragment to handle wh‐question formation by introducing the type‐shifter FRONT. This type‐shifter captures the systematic syntactic relationship between in‐situ wh‐questions and fronted wh‐questions. Flexibility in the timing of the application of the type‐shifter accounts for pied piping. Because the type‐shifter adjusts the syntax of a wh‐question without affecting its semantics, the net effect is that the denotation of a fronted wh‐question will be identical to the denotation of the corresponding in‐situ wh‐question. Fronted wh‐phrases combine with question bodies that are clauses missing a DP argument somewhere inside of them. The position of the missing DP is occupied by a gap, where gaps are identity categories, both syntactically and semantically. The account of multiple wh predicts superiority effects through the same evaluation‐order mechanism as the explanation for weak crossover.Less
Chapter 5 extends the fragment to handle wh‐question formation by introducing the type‐shifter FRONT. This type‐shifter captures the systematic syntactic relationship between in‐situ wh‐questions and fronted wh‐questions. Flexibility in the timing of the application of the type‐shifter accounts for pied piping. Because the type‐shifter adjusts the syntax of a wh‐question without affecting its semantics, the net effect is that the denotation of a fronted wh‐question will be identical to the denotation of the corresponding in‐situ wh‐question. Fronted wh‐phrases combine with question bodies that are clauses missing a DP argument somewhere inside of them. The position of the missing DP is occupied by a gap, where gaps are identity categories, both syntactically and semantically. The account of multiple wh predicts superiority effects through the same evaluation‐order mechanism as the explanation for weak crossover.
Maria Polinsky
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190256586
- eISBN:
- 9780190256616
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190256586.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Theoretical Linguistics
The chapter considers possible diachronic and acquisitional connections between the PP-ergative type and the DP-ergative type. As emphasized throughout this book, each type comes with a set of ...
More
The chapter considers possible diachronic and acquisitional connections between the PP-ergative type and the DP-ergative type. As emphasized throughout this book, each type comes with a set of correlated properties, among which the inaccessibility to A-bar movement is just one of the manifestations of the PP-ergative type. If the P head in the PP ergative expression is no longer visible, a given PP-ergative language can embark on the path to develop properties of a DP-ergative language. These properties may not all develop at the same, and potential triggers of change may also vary, including the reanalysis of a PP as a DP or the relaxation of language-specific restrictions on P-stranding or pied-piping.Less
The chapter considers possible diachronic and acquisitional connections between the PP-ergative type and the DP-ergative type. As emphasized throughout this book, each type comes with a set of correlated properties, among which the inaccessibility to A-bar movement is just one of the manifestations of the PP-ergative type. If the P head in the PP ergative expression is no longer visible, a given PP-ergative language can embark on the path to develop properties of a DP-ergative language. These properties may not all develop at the same, and potential triggers of change may also vary, including the reanalysis of a PP as a DP or the relaxation of language-specific restrictions on P-stranding or pied-piping.
