Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Wh-movement and specificity

  • Published:
Natural Language & Linguistic Theory Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper claims that the possibilities of movement of Wh-operators, as well as the scope possibilities of Wh-operators in situ, are constrained by a filter on interpretation requiring that an operator Op i having scope over Op j and binding a variable in the scope of Op j be specific. The operation of the filter is demonstrated in the case of extraction out of a Wh-island, in multiple questions, and in the case of nonWh-operators, as well. The analysis of the role of specificity in multiple questions is embedded in a theory of multiple questions which analyzes the wider scope Wh-phrase of a multiple question as a universal quantifier.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barwise, Jon and Robin Cooper: 1981, ‘Generalized Quantifiers in Natural Language’,Linguistics and Philosophy 4, 159–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolinger, Dwight: 1978, ‘Asking More than One Thing at a Time’, in Henry Hiž (ed.),Questions, Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 107–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, Noam: 1973, ‘Conditions on Transformations’, in S. R. Anderson and P. Kiparsky (eds.),A Festschrift for Morris Halle, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, pp. 232–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, Noam: 1981,Lectures on Government and Binding, Foris, Dordrecht.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, Noam: 1986,Barriers, Linguistic Inquiry Monograph Series, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cinque, Guglielmo: 1991,Types of A′-Dependencies, Linguistic Inquiry Monograph Series, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comorovski, Ileana: 1989,Discourse and the Syntax of Multiple Constituent Questions, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell.

  • Enç, Mürvet: 1991, ‘The Semantics of Specificity’,Linguistic Inquiry 22, 1–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, Janet and Ivan A. Sag: 1982, ‘Referential and Quantificational Indefinites’,Linguistics and Philosophy 5, 355–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, Irene: 1982,The Semantics of Definite and Indefinite Noun Phrases, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, Irene: 1987, ‘Where does the Definiteness Restriction Apply? Evidence from the Definiteness of Variables’, in E. Reuland and A. ter Meulen (eds.),The Representation of (In)definiteness, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 21–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higginbotham, James and Robert May: 1981, ‘Questions, Quantifiers and Crossing’,The Linguistic Review 1, 41–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horvath, Julia: 1985,Focus in the Theory of Grammar and the Syntax of Hungarian, Foris, Dordrecht.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, James C. T.: 1981, ‘Move WH in a Language without WH Movement’,The Linguistic Review 1, 369–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, James C. T.: 1982,Logical Relations in Chinese and the Theory of Grammar, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, MIT.

  • Kálmán, László and Zoltán Szabó: 1990, ‘DIRT: An Overview’, in Martin Stokhof and Leen Torenvliet (eds.),Proceedings of the 7th Amsterdam Colloquium, 253–275.

  • Kayne, Richard: 1983, ‘Connectedness’,Linguistic Inquiry 14, 223–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • É. Kiss, Katalin: 1987,Configurationality in Hungarian, Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, Reidel, Dordrecht.

    Google Scholar 

  • É. Kiss, Katalin: 1991, ‘Logical Structure in Syntactic Structure: The Case of Hungarian’, in J. Huang and R. May (eds.),Logical Structure and Syntactic Structure, Reidel, Dordrecht.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroch, Anthony: 1989, ‘Amount Quantification, Referentiality and Long Wh-movement’, unpublished, University of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuno, Susumu: 1982, ‘The Focus of the Question and the Focus of the Answer’,Papers from the Parasession on Nondeclaratives, Chicago Linguistic Society.

  • Lasnik, Howard and Mamoru Saito: 1992,Move Alpha. Conditions on Its Application and Output, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • May, Robert: 1985,Logical Form: Its Structure and Derivation, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pesetsky, David: 1987, ‘Wh-in-Situ: Movement and Unselective Binding’, in E. Reuland and A. ter Meulen (eds.),The Representation of (In)definiteness, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 98–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riemsdijk, Henk van and Edwin Williams: 1981, ‘NP-structure’,The Linguistic Review 1, 171–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rizzi, Luigi: 1991,Relativized Minimality, Linguistic Inquiry Monograph Series, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szabolcsi, Anna and Frans Zwarts: 1991, ‘Weak Islands and Algebraic Semantics’, to appear inNatural Language Semantics.

  • Williams, Edwin: 1986, ‘A Reassignment of the Functions of LF’,Linguistic Inquiry 17, 265–299.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Linguistic Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Színház u.5-9. Pf. 19, H-1250, Budapest I., Hungary

    Katalin É. Kiss

Authors
  1. Katalin É. Kiss
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

I am grateful to Mürvet Enç, Arnim von Stechow, Anna Szabolcsi, Zoltán Szabó, and the reviewers ofNLLT for their comments on earlier versions of this paper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kiss, K.É. Wh-movement and specificity. Nat Lang Linguist Theory 11, 85–120 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993022

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993022

Keywords

Search

Navigation