Scope assignment: From wh- to QR

Abstract

This paper develops a theory of scope assignment to wh-phrases as resulting of a process of selective spell-out of copies created from Internal Merge. We show that so-called LF-movement is not a viable option in the current theory of grammar. We therefore pursue the idea that all movement is overt and this, taken in conjunction with a tripartite structure for question formation (involving a clause-typing interrogative C, a Q particle, and a wh-phrase) yields a transparent, syntactically driven theory of scope which we then extend, more speculatively to Quantifier Raising in general.

Keywords

wh-movement, wh-in-situ, Quantifier Raising, Logical Form, questions, interrogatives, particles, LF-movement

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Tsoulas, G. & Yeo, N., (2017) “Scope assignment: From wh- to QR”, Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 2(1): 87. doi: https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.308

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Authors

George Tsoulas (University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD)
Norman Yeo (University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD)

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

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