LINB06H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Theta Role, Complementizer, Accusative Case
Document Summary
Wh-question: there are several different kinds of questions, only two of which we are concerned with in this book. The first kind is the familiar yes/no questions. The answer to these questions cannot (cid:271)e a(cid:374)(cid:455)thi(cid:374)g othe(cid:396) tha(cid:374) (cid:455)es, (cid:374)o, (cid:373)a(cid:455)(cid:271)e, o(cid:396) i do(cid:374)(cid:859)t k(cid:374)o(cid:449) Wh-phrase appears in a position far away from the position where its theta role is assigned. So it appears as if not only are these wh-ph(cid:396)ases (cid:374)ot i(cid:374) thei(cid:396) theta positio(cid:374)s, (cid:271)ut the(cid:455) a(cid:396)e(cid:374)(cid:859)t i(cid:374) their case position either. One positio(cid:374) that (cid:449)e(cid:859)(cid:448)e had fo(cid:396) a (cid:449)hile, (cid:271)ut ha(cid:448)e (cid:455)et used is the spe(cid:272)ifie(cid:396) of cp: this is the place wh-phrase move to: Notice that what moves here is an entire phrase. When you move an entire phrase, it cannot be an instance of head-to-head movement, so this must be movement to a position other than a head, in this case the empty specifier of cp.
