On the syntax of multiple sluicing and what it tells us about wh scope taking
Klaus Abels, Veneeta Dayal
March 2020
 

This paper takes as its starting point the observation that across many languages multiple sluicing obeys a clause-mate constraint. It develops an account of this constraint which is based on the assumption that covert wh- movement is clause bound and subject to superiority. With this analysis as background, the fact that the distribution of multiple sluicing is substantially narrower than that of multiple wh-questions, under both the single pair and the pair-list interpretation, then entails that there must be mechanisms for scoping in-situ wh-phrases that do not rely on covert wh-movement. While long distance cases are handled straightforwardly by existing theories, we de- velop a novel approach to pair-list readings in questions with quanti ers and in questions with superiority con gurations. The analysis is couched in the functional approach to pair-list readings. The paper supports the claim that there is syntactic structure at the ellipsis site, that movement operations within the ellipsis site are subject to locality constraints, and that pair-list readings of multiple questions are rooted in functional readings.
Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/003584
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: accepted Linguistic Inquiry
keywords: syntax, locality, sluicing, ellipsis, multiple sluicing, syntax-semantics interface, wh-scope, covert movement, wh-in-situ, multiple wh-questions, semantics, syntax
previous versions: v1 [July 2017]
Downloaded:1126 times

 

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