Sluicing and Multiple Wh-fronting.

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    Abstract

    This paper explores multiple wh-fronting under Sluicing. Contrary to previous proposals that an interrogative +wh complementizer licenses TP-ellipsis, I propose that +focus feature licenses this ellipsis operation. Assuming the deletion analysis of sluicing, following Ross (1969), I argue for focus-licensed sluicing based on data from Slavic languages like Russian and Polish, where it is possible to have focused R-expressions as remnants of sluicing. I demonstrate how semantic restrictions in multiple interrogatives are maintained under sluicing, presenting a new argument for the clausal structure of the sluice. Finally, I explore Superiority effects under sluicing, deriving those from parallelism in variable binding.

    Original languageAmerican English
    JournalThe Fifth Asian Generative Linguistics of the Old World Conference Proceedings. (GLOW in Asia).
    StatePublished - Jan 1 2009

    Keywords

    • ellipsis; sluicing; wh-movement; focus; parallelism; superiority

    Disciplines

    • Linguistics

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