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Scrambling in German and Japanese: Adjunction Versus Multiple Specifiers

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Abstract

This paper argues that short (clause-internal) scrambling to a pre-subject position has A-properties in Japanese but A!-properties in German, while long scrambling (scrambling across sentence boundaries) from finite clauses, which is possible in Japanese but not in German, has A!-properties throughout. It is shown that these differences between German and Japanese can be traced back to parametric variation of phrase structure and the parameterized properties of functional heads. Due to the properties of Agreement, sentences in Japanese may contain multiple (Agro- and Agrs-) specifiers whereas German does not allow for this. In Japanese, a scrambled element may be located in a Spec AgrP, i.e., an A- or L-related position, whereas scrambled NPs in German can only appear in an AgrP-adjoined (broadly-L-related) position, which only has A!-properties. Given our assumption that successive cyclic adjunction is generally impossible, elements in German may not be long scrambled because a scrambled element that is moved to an adjunction site inside an embedded clause may not move further. In Japanese, long distance scrambling out of finite CPs is possible since scrambling may proceed in a successive cyclic manner via embedded Spec-(AgrP) positions. Our analysis of the differences between German and Japanese scrambling provides us with an account of further contrasts between the two languages such as the existence of surprising asymmetries between German and Japanese remnant-movement phenomena, and the fact that, unlike German, Japanese freely allows wh-scrambling. Investigation of the properties of Japanese wh-movement also leads us to the formulation of the Wh-cluster Hypothesis, which implies that Japanese is an LF multiple wh-fronting language.

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  1. Institut für Deutsche Sprache und Literatur II, Universität Frankfurt/Main, Gräfstr. 76, D-60054, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Günther Grewendorf & Joachim Sabel

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  1. Günther Grewendorf
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Grewendorf, G., Sabel, J. Scrambling in German and Japanese: Adjunction Versus Multiple Specifiers. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 17, 1–65 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006068326583

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