Thinking on WH-Movement

Transcription

1 anadian Social Science ol. 12, No. 3, 2016, pp O: /8284 SSN [Prin] SSN [Online] Thinking on WH-Movemen PENG Xiamei [a],* [a] School of Foreign Languages, Norh hina Elecric Power Universiy, Beijing, hina. * orresponding auhor. Suppored by Beijing Higher Educaion Young Elie Teacher Projec (YETP0735). Received 20 ecember 2015; acceped 19 February 2016 Published online 26 March 2016 Absrac Andrew Radford s Synax: A Minimalis nroducion illusraes he feaures of wh-movemen in English, aking ha wh-movemen is a ype of operaor movemen, and synacic unis may move from heir iniial posiion o anoher posiion in he senence. hinese version of whmovemen has quie he similar srucure o he echo quesion of English version, bu his generalizaion seems unreliable in hinese when excepional operaors such as 为什么?and 什么时候?Are brough ino ligh. So his paper ries o explore he similariies and differences of wh-movemen in hinese wh-word quesions, illusraing some examples of hinese as an expansion of he English wh-movemen version. Key words: synax; Wh-movemen; Operaor movemen; Synacic unis consideraion of his movemen, so in his paper will illusrae some examples of hinese as an expansion of he English wh-movemen version. Synacic unis, i.e. words and phrases, may move from heir iniial posiion o anoher posiion in he senence. This movemen may be due o consideraions of scope for wh-iems, amongs oher hings. Wh-iems are words and phrases used in cerain quesion forms, e.g. wha, when, wih whom, which, ec.. So firs of all, would like o say a few words abou wha wh-movemen is. According o Andrew Radford, wh-movemen is a ype of operaor movemen 1 whereby an expression conaining a wh-word is moved o he fron of a paricular clause (Radford, 2000, pp.274-5). Le s see he following example (1): (1) Wha was he doing? n his senence, he invered auxiliary was originaes in NFL, and he pronominal deerminer wha originaes as he complemen of doing, so we can ge is echo quesion (2) (2) He was doing wha? OMP in quesions is a srong head, so he auxiliary was moves from NFL o OMP o fill OMP. An inerrogaive OMP carries a [wh] specifier feaure, and wha moves o spec- as in (3) Peng, X. M. (2016). Thinking on WH-Movemen. anadian Social Science, 12(3), Available from: hp:// O: hp://dx.doi.org/ /8284 NTROUTON n Synax: A Minimalis nroducion, Andrew Radford explains o us wha wh-movemen is and illusraes some feaures of his phenomenon. From his explanaions and by comparing English wih hinese, ge a lile 1 Operaor movemen: operaor, his erm is used in synax o denoe (for example) inerrogaive and negaive expressions which have he synacic propery ha hey rigger auxiliary inversion (Andrew Radford, p.267). Operaor movemen : Movemen of an operaor expression ino spec- (i.e. ino he specifier posiion wihin ) (Andrew Radford, p.267). 47 opyrigh anadian Academy of Orienal and Occidenal ulure

2 Thinking on WH-Movemen (3) (8) wha wha was he doing P 在 干 P (9) 知道们到了哪里? We ge he derivaion (10) (10) 什么 n wh-moveme, a wh-iem moves from one posiion, such as he direc objec posiion in (4) o he marix or op-mos Spec posiion in (5). The original posiion of he wh-phrase is shown by a race. (4) Picasso had pained [which picure]. (5) Which picure i had Picasso pained i? The wh-phrase [which picure] has o originae as he direc objec of he verb for reasons of subcaegorisaion, i.e. pain needs a direc objec. Then he wh-phrase moves o he iniial posiion of he senence o form a quesion. The same ype of wh-moveme also occurs in longer senences including any number of sub-clauses. This is shown in (6): [ Which picure]i did Miro hink [ i ha Picasso had pained i]? n (6), he wh-phrase moves in successive-cyclical seps from is base-posiion hrough he Spec of he embedded clause o he Spec of he marix clause. n his posiion, he wh-phrase akes scope over he enire senence, i.e. he senence is inerpreed as a quesion. ATA ANALYSS hinese version of wh-movemen has quie he similar srucure o he echo quesion of English version wha he was doing? i.e. in hinese, wh-operaor is usually kep a he end of a senence. f senence (1) is pu ino hinese, i will be: (7) 在干什么? n comparison o English, hinese wh-operaors don need o move o he fron spec- posiion, bu say in siu, i.e. say in he senencefinal posiion. So senence (7) has he derivaion (8) Since he [wh] deerminer 什么? (wha) does no move o he fron o check he [wh] specifier-feaure of OMP (in fac, here is no need for senence (7) o exend o.). 什么? says in siu, and NFL 在 also says in siu insead of moving o he OMP posiion. To furher prove his phenomenon, le s see anoher example 知道 P 们 到了 P 哪里 Oher wh-operaors such as 谁? (who) also have he similar srucure as 什么? and 哪里? More examples are given as follows: (11) 她还认识谁? has he derivaion (12) Adv. 还 AP 到了 P 哪里 谁? in example (11) originaes as he complemen of he verb 认识 and says in siu. So (11) is an, and does no exend o. See example (13) (13) 一只蜜蜂能活多久? 多久 (how long) is also he kind of [wh] operaor ha does no move o he fron bu remains in siu, i.e. remains in he senence-final posiion. By adding a quesion mark o he senence, (10) forms a wh-inerrogaive senence. Thus, we have he derivaion (14) opyrigh anadian Academy of Orienal and Occidenal ulure 48

3 PENG Xiamei (2016). anadian Social Science, 12(3), (14) QP N P 一只 蜜能 蜂 活 多久 Bu his generalizaion menioned above seems unreliable when excepional operaors such as 为什么? and 什么时候? Are brough ino ligh. We can no simply rea 为什么? as hese examples given above, insead i is a differen case. Le s see example (12) (15) 为什么学习? Example (12) is differen from examples (7), (9), (11) and (13) lies in he assumpion ha he deerminer 为什么? Originaes in he complemen of verb 学习 and specifier originaes in he spec-, so we ge is corresponding echo quesion (16) (16) 学习为什么? Le s assume ha an inerrogaive OMP carries a [wh] specifier feaure and ha 为什么? Moves o spec- and also ha deerminer moves from he lower spec- o he higher spec-, so we ge he following derivaion (17): (17) 为什么 什么时候 回来 The second issue would like o discuss here is abou he wh-movemen in muliple wh-quesions in hinese. omparing (20a) wih (20b), i can be seen ha in English wh-words move o he fron, while in hinese wh-words do no move, i.e., say in siu. According o homsky (1973) and James Huang (1982), he logical form (LF) is responsible for he wh-raising, and all he wh-words should be moved ou of he -srucure. See example (20) (20) (a) 说谁要做什么? (b) Who do you say will do wha? (20b) is he English counerpar of (20a), and (20a) and (20b) have heir derivaions (21a) and (21b) respecively as follows: (21a) 说 P P P 学习 (21b) 谁 P 要 做 什么 Similar o he case of 为什么? in example (18), 什么时候? (when) also originaes in he complemen of he verb 回来 and so needs o be moved o spec- posiion. See example (18) (18) (a) 什么时候回来? (b) he when come back? (18b) is he English counerpar of (18a). n (18a), 什么时候? Undergoes movemen from is underlying deerminer of P o he spec- posiion and i leaves behind a race in he posiion of he deerminer of P. Similarly, moves from is original posiion of he lower spec- o he higher spec-. Thus, example (18a) has he following derivaion (19): who wha you say P P will do wha 49 opyrigh anadian Academy of Orienal and Occidenal ulure

4 Thinking on WH-Movemen omparing (21a) wih (21b), we can find ha in (21a) 说谁要做什么? neiher 谁 nor 什么? Moves o he fron spec- o be checked. Since hinese, unlike English, does no need o check is agreemen-feaures, i usually does no move is consiuens o he fron o be checked. This is also he case wih wh-operaor movemen. 谁 originaes as he specifier of he complemen of 说 and says in siu, i.e. says in he lower spec- and does no move o spec-. Since 谁 does no move o spec-, 什么? an no move o he nex highes deerminer posiion in ha here is no empy posiion o fill. This assumpion ha hinese wh-operaors say in siu in muliple wh-quesions raises an ineresing quesion: why should 谁 be pu in fron while 什么 in senencefinial posiion? To answer his quesion, we have o exploi UTAH (Uniform Thea-Assignmen Hypohesis) analysis. The predicae of he clause, 做, requires an agen subjec, ha is o say, verb 做 θ-marks is subjec, and hence i can only have as is subjec an expression denoing an eniy capable of raional hough. n his sense 什么 is no allowed o be he subjec of 做, while 谁 can. Anoher poin ha d like o inroduce here is he differences beween maching quesions and conjoined quesions in muliple wh-quesions. See example (22) (22) (a) Who came when? (b) Who came and when? The former (i.e. (22a)) is a maching quesion, while he laer (i.e. (22b)) is a conjoined quesion. According o Bolinger (1978) and Wachowicz (1975), a maching quesion has a leas wo pairs of answers ha are appropriae, and hey use minimalis pair o differ maching quesions from conjoined quesions. Take (23) for insance: (23) Q: Who brough wha? A1: Monica brough her eddy-bear and Herber brough his dolls. A2: * Monica brough her eddy-bear. (* signals an inappropriae answer.) So in his sense, if an acion ha a verb represens can happen only once, hen he maching quesion wih such kind of verb is unaccepable. For example: (24) (a) * Who killed Rober Kennedy when? (b) * Who is keeping he silver dollar in which bank? f we change he verb phrase or objec noun phrase in (24), so ha he acions in he senences can happen for several imes, we will ge he accepable senences (25) (a) (b) (c) respecively. (25) (a) Who killed which Kennedy? Who kep he silver dollar in which bank? Who saw Rober Kennedy when? Bu i is no always he case ha a maching quesion needs a leas wo pairs of answers, see he couner example (26) (26) Q: Who hi who firs? A: Tom hi Ben. Similarly, in hinese inerpreaions of wh-phrases in canonical muliple wh-quesions resemble ha found in English. See examples (27) (a) 谁喜欢什么? (b) 张三喜欢古典音乐, 李四喜欢当代小说 (28) (a) 谁为什么没来呢? (b) 张三因为太忙没来, 李四因为生病没来 (a) 李四怎么样偷了什么? (b) 李四公开地偷了汽车, 悄悄地偷了钱包 (29) Q: 们俩谁喜欢谁? A: 张三喜欢李四. n example (27), (28), and (29), all need pair-lis answers, which are in accordance wih Kuno s (1982) soring key hypohesis ( 分类答案假设 ). Kuno pus forward his hypohesis o he effec ha in a muliple wh-quesion, he froned wh-word represens he key for soring relevan pieces of informaion in he answer. As for example (30), i is he couner example o he requiremen ha maching quesions need a leas wo pairs of answers. Finally, wan o pu some emphasis on a phenomenon concerned wih who or in hinese 谁. See he following example (31): (31) Who bea her? Unlike he formula we have used above, i.e. all whquesions is s conaining a wh-operaor which moves ino spec-, (31) is no a, bu an. According o Andrew Radford, who in (31) does no move o spec-, bu remains in siu in spec-. Thus, (31) has is derivaion (32) (32) who P bea her This would mean ha inerrogaive clauses wih inerrogaive subjecs have he saus of s, bu oher ypes of inerrogaive clauses have he saus of s (Radford, p144). Then Mr. Radford furher proposes economy principle o explain he asymmery in he srucure of quesions. This applies o he hinese whoperaor, 谁. When 谁 is he subjec of a predicae, i usually remains in he beginning posiion of a senence like oher subjecs. See example (33) (33) (a) 谁在呼救? (b) 谁不喜欢? n boh (33a) and (33b), 谁 is he subjec of he predicae 呼救 and 喜欢, so i remains in siu. (33) has he derivaion (34) opyrigh anadian Academy of Orienal and Occidenal ulure 50

5 PENG Xiamei (2016). anadian Social Science, 12(3), (34a) (34b) 谁 在 谁 P 呼救 不 喜欢 n his sense, hinese is uniform o English whoperaor movemen. Bu in hinese here are excepions ha he wh-operaor 谁 is no in he beginning subjec posiion., bu is moved o he second place. See example (35) (35) 这样的傻事谁肯干? Alhough 谁 is sill he subjec of he predicae 肯干, i rereas o he second place in (35). Why so? The key o his quesion is ha he complemen (objec in his case) of he predicae 肯干 is moved o he fron spec-. So (35) has is echo quesion (36) as follows: (36) 谁肯干这样的傻事? For he purpose of emphasizing is complemen, 这样的傻事 is moved o he fron spec-. So (35) has is derivaion (37) (37) 这样 的傻事. 还 肯干 P n (37), he deerminer of he P, 这样的傻事, moves across spec-, 谁, o he spec- in order o be sressed. This assumpion also applies o example (38): (38) 窗户谁叫打开的? s original order should be: (39) 谁叫打开窗户的? n order o make he complemen 窗户 emphasized, i moves across he subjec 谁 o he posiion of spec-. Wh-operaor movemen is a very imporan par in principles of Universal Grammar, bu since each language has is pariculariies, universal grammar can only be seen as universal o some exen. This aricle mainly concenraes on wh-movemen and some issues of muliple wh-quesions. There mus be a lo of oher poins concerning his movemen and wh-quesions, for example, he pipe-pied phenomenon of wh-operaors in hinese, LF movemen, hinese donkey senences, and ec., bu could no cover all hese issues wihin one aricle. Since hinese is an ineresing and special language, i will be worhwhile o explore i under he principles of Universal Grammar. REFERENES Bolinger,. (1978). Asking more han one hing a a ime. n H. Hiz (Ed.), Quesions. ordrech: Reidel. homsky, N. (1973). ondiions on ransformaion. n S. Anderson & P. Kiparsky (Eds.). A fesschrif for morris halle, hol. New York: Rinehar, and Winson. New York. Huang, & James,. -T. (1982). Move WH in a language wihou WH movemen. The Linguisic Review, 1, Kuno, S. (1982). The focus of he quesion and focus of he answer. Papers from he Parasession on Nondeclaraives, hicago Linguisic Sociey. Radford, A. (2000). Synax: A minimalis inroducion. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Wachowicz, K. (1975). Muliple quesions. Linguisic Silesiana, 1, Wu, Y. Q. (2000). A review of he sudies of wh-quesions. Modern Foreign Languages, 83, Wu, Y. Q. (2001). Muliple wh-quesion and he funcional inerpreaion of wh-phrases. Modern Foreign Languages, 95, Zhao Z. L. (1983). Analysis of senence elemens in modern hinese. Xi an, hina: Shannxi People s Press. 51 opyrigh anadian Academy of Orienal and Occidenal ulure