On the Typology of Wh-questions

On the Typology of Wh-questions PDF Author: Lisa L. S. Cheng
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English language
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description

On the Typology of Wh-questions

On the Typology of Wh-questions PDF Author: Lisa L. S. Cheng
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English language
Languages : en
Pages : 237

Get Book Here

Book Description


On the Typology of Wh-questions

On the Typology of Wh-questions PDF Author: Lisa Lai Shen Cheng
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 9780815328872
Category : Grammar, Comparative and general
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Offers an explanation for a long-standing question in the typological distinction among languages with respect to formation of interrogatives which use questions words such as "who" and "what." Proposes that the availability of question particles and the properties of question words contribute to the typological distinctions found, and argues that the availability of question particles correlates with the lack of fronting of question words. Of interest to scholars working on interrogatives, syntactic theory, comparative syntax, Chinese syntax, and typology. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Unique Focus

Unique Focus PDF Author: Marina Stoyanova
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027291527
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
This monograph focuses on an interesting typological property shared by four languages: the ungrammaticality of multiple wh-questions in Irish, Berber, Italian and Somali. It contains a broad discussion of data related to the grammar of wh-questions, a comparative analysis of wh-constructions in the four languages, and a theoretical account for the observed phenomenon. The analysis is based on the minimalist syntax theory as developed by Chomsky since 1995. It takes up the standard assumption that wh-phrases are typical representatives of elements bearing new information, in theoretical terms referred to as information focus. Most importantly, in the languages without multiple wh-questions the information focus is licensed in a unique syntactic position. The basic claim is that languages with unique focus are languages without multiple wh-questions. The analysis makes possible the classification of the languages without multiple wh-questions into the crosslinguistic typology of wh-constructions. Furthermore, this book is a contribution to the better understanding of information structure in natural languages, especially of focusing phenomena.

Multiple Wh-fronting

Multiple Wh-fronting PDF Author: Cedric Boeckx
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9789027227874
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Typological differences in the formation of multiple "Wh"-questions are well-known. One option is fronting all "Wh"-phrases to the sentence periphery. The contributions to this volume all explore this option from a number of perspectives. Topics covered include finer investigations of the classic multiple "Wh"-fronting languages (such as the South Slavic languages Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian), extensions to less well studied languages (Basque, Malagasy, Persian, Yiddish), explorations for languages that don t obviously fall into this category (German, Hungarian), peripheral effects (optionality of fronting, Superiority vs. Anti-Superiority etc.), interface issues (with semantics, pragmatics, and phonology), and simply theoretical approaches aiming to capture the mechanisms involved in multiple "Wh"-fronting strategies. The theoretical framework adopted throughout is the Minimalist Program, viewed from different angles. This volume brings together some of the leading experts on the syntax of "Wh"-questions and offers up-to-date analyses of the topic. It will be indispensable for scholars investigating multiple "Wh"-questions, and will find an appropriate audience in advanced students and faculty alike.

Unique Focus

Unique Focus PDF Author: Marina Stoyanova
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9789027255068
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
This monograph focuses on an interesting typological property shared by four languages: the ungrammaticality of multiple wh-questions in Irish, Berber, Italian and Somali. It contains a broad discussion of data related to the grammar of wh-questions, a comparative analysis of wh-constructions in the four languages, and a theoretical account for the observed phenomenon. The analysis is based on the minimalist syntax theory as developed by Chomsky since 1995. It takes up the standard assumption that wh-phrases are typical representatives of elements bearing new information, in theoretical terms referred to as information focus. Most importantly, in the languages without multiple wh-questions the information focus is licensed in a unique syntactic position. The basic claim is that languages with unique focus are languages without multiple wh-questions. The analysis makes possible the classification of the languages without multiple wh-questions into the crosslinguistic typology of wh-constructions. Furthermore, this book is a contribution to the better understanding of information structure in natural languages, especially of focusing phenomena.

The Typology of Wh-questions, an Optimality Theoretic Approach

The Typology of Wh-questions, an Optimality Theoretic Approach PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Wh-movement

Wh-movement PDF Author: Lisa Lai Shen Cheng
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Linguists reconsider issues raised in Chomsky's 1977 article "On Wh-movement" from the perspective of current Minimalist theory.

The Copy Theory of Movement

The Copy Theory of Movement PDF Author: Norbert Corver
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027292302
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
This volume brings together papers which address issues regarding the copy theory of movement. According to this theory, a trace is a copy of the moved element that is deleted in the phonological component but is available for interpretation at L(ogical) F(orm). Thus far, the bulk of the research on the copy theory has mainly focused on interpretation issues at LF. The consequences of the copy theory for syntactic computation per se and for the syntax–phonology mapping, in particular, have received much less attention in the literature, despite its crucial relevance for the whole architecture of the model. As a contribution to fill this gap, this volume congregates recent work that deals with empirical and conceptual consequences of the copy theory of movement for the inner working of syntactic computations within the Minimalist Program, with special emphasis on the syntax–phonology mapping.

Prosodic Typology II

Prosodic Typology II PDF Author: Sun-Ah Jun
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199567301
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 605

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Book Description
This text illustrates an approach to prosodic typology through descriptions of the intonation and the prosodic structure of 13 typologically different languages based on the same theoretical framework and the transcription system of prosody known as Tones and Break Indices (ToBI).

Tag Questions in Conversation

Tag Questions in Conversation PDF Author: Ditte Kimps
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027264333
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
This monograph deals with variable tag questions. These are utterances with a variable interrogative tag, like It's peculiar writing, isn't it, and the semi-variable tag innit, such as Nice, innit. The aim is to provide a corpus-based, comprehensive semantic-pragmatic typology of British English tag questions. Compared to existing descriptions, the proposed typology is novel in three ways. Firstly, whereas almost all existing typologies are single-layered classifications, the functions of tag questions are categorized into two parallel dimensions of interpersonal meaning: the speech function and the stance layer. Secondly, semantic generalizations are proposed for clusters of grammatical, intonational and conversational properties. Thirdly, the bottom-up description is based on a sizeable amount of authentic, spontaneous conversations, which are analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively.