Syntax II (LING 610): Assignment #7 Wh

Syntax II (LING 610): Assignment #7
Wh-Question Formation in Spanish
Due Thursday May 4th
1. Second Squib
Please submit with your homework assignment a description of what you will write for your
second squib. Similar guidelines apply as for the first squib, with the additional possibility of
developing the area of your first squib, provided that you can give a clear explanation for why
this is a significant development of the first squib.
2. Wh-Question Formation in Spanish
The examples below are all from the variety of Spanish spoken in Spain: the examples are taken
from Torrego (1984). Spanish is a null-subject language. Your task in this question is to figure
out the rules for wh-movement and verb placement in Spanish.
The question is divided into 5 parts, and it is recommended that you answer them in the order
presented, because some of the later parts build upon the generalizations illustrated in the earlier
parts. Note: you are not expected to adopt any specific theory or framework, old or new,
fashionable or not. You may adopt any theoretical approach which you are familiar with and
which you think does a good job of explaining the facts.
A. Simple wh-questions
(1–2) show examples of sentences in Spanish with wh-in-situ ((a) examples) and with whfronting ((b–c) examples). Question: Describe the differences between the (a), (b) and (c)
examples, and state what syntactic process accompanies wh-fronting?
(1)
a.
Esos dos
querían
qué?
those two
want(pst)
what
‘What did those two want?’
b.
Qué querían esos dos?
what want(pst) those two
‘What did those two want?’
c.
(2)
a.
* Qué esos dos querían?
what those two want(pst)
Juan vendrá
hoy
con quién?
Juan come(fut)
today with whom\
‘ With whom will Juan come today?’
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b.
c.
Con quién vendrá
Juan hoy?
with whom come(fut) Juan today
‘With whom will Juan come today?’
* Con quién Juan vendrá hoy?
with whom Juan come(fut) today
NOTE 1: (3–4) show examples of wh-questions in sentences containing auxiliary+participle
sequences. These facts may be a little surprising given your analysis of (1–2). For the purposes
of this exercise, you may assume in what follows that auxiliary+participle sequences are treated
as a single syntactic head in Spanish. In addition, in some of the other examples below you will
see that clitic pronouns (e.g. se, le, los), which immediately precede the finite verb, also behave
as if they form a single syntactic head with the verb.
(3)
(4)
a.
Qué ha organizado la gente?
what has organized the people
‘What have people organized?’
b.
*Qué ha
what has
a.
Por quién
fue organizada la reunión?
by whom
was organized the meeting
‘By whom was the meeting organized?’
b.
*Por quién
by whom
la gente organizado?
the people organized
fue
was
la reunión organizada?
the meeting organized
NOTE 2: the wh-word qué ‘what’ and the complementizer que ‘that’ look very similar to one
another – take care not to confuse them in reading the examples that follow. In all examples
English glosses are provided below the Spanish sentences.
B. Embedded wh-questions
The sentences in (5–7) show examples of embedded (‘indirect’) wh-questions in Spanish.
Question: describe the difference between the (a) and (b) examples. If these examples require
you to update your account of wh-question formation based on (1–2), then do so.
(5)
a.
b.
No sabía
qué
querían
esos dos.
Not know(pst) what want(pst)
those two
‘I didn’t know what those two wanted.’
* No sabía
qué esos dos querían.
Not know(pst) what those two want(pst)
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(6)
a.
b.
(7)
a.
b.
Es impredecible
con
quién vendrá Juan hoy.
Is unpredictable
with whom come(fut) Juan today.
‘It is unpredictable who John will come with today.’
* Es impredecible
Is unpredictable
con quién Juan
with whom Juan
vendrá hoy.
come(fut) today.
No me acuerdo
a quién prestó
Juan
not me remember(pres)
to whom lend(pst)
Juan
‘I don’t remember to whom Juan lent the dictionary.’
* No me acuerdo
not me remember(pres)
a quién
to whom
el diccionario.
the dictionary
Juan prestó el diccionario.
Juan lend(pst) the dictionary
C. Long-distance wh-questions
(8–10) shows examples of declarative sentences containing multiple embedded clauses ((a)
examples), and wh-questions based on these declaratives. Question: describe the word-order
contrast between the declaratives and wh-questions. Does this pattern follow from your current
analysis? Update it if necessary.
(8)
a.
Juan pensaba que Pedro le había dicho que la revista
había publicado ya el
articolo.
Juan think(pst) that Pedro him had told that the journal had published already
the article
‘Juan thought that Pedro had told him that the journal had published the article
already.’
b.
Qué pensaba Juan que le había dicho
Pedro que había publicado la
revista?
What think(pst) Juan that him had told
Pedro that had published the journal
‘What did Juan think that Pedro had told him that the journal had published?’
c.
(9)
a.
* Qué pensaba Juan que Pedro
publicado?
What think(pst) Juan that Pedro
le había dicho que la revista había
him had told
that the journal had published
Juan piensa que la familia había dicho que los amigos les habían aconsejado que
su hija estudiara ciencias y no letras.
Juan think(pres) that the family had said that the friends them had advised that
their daughter study(subj) science and not humanities
‘Juan thinks that the family had said that their friends had advised them that their
daughter study science rather than the humanities.’
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b.
c.
(10)
Qué piensa Juan que había dicho la familia que les habían aconsejado los amigos
que estudiara su hija?
what think Juan that had said the family that them had advised
their friends
that study their daughter
‘What does Juan think that the family had said that their friends had advised them
that their daughter study?’
* Qué piensa Juan que la familia había dicho que los amigos les habían
aconsejado que su hija estudiara?
what think Juan that the family had said that their friends them had advised
that their daughter study
a.
Juan sabía que Ana había admitido que Pedro había hablado con los empleados.
Juan knew that Ana had admitted that Pedro had spoken with the employees
‘Juan knew that Ana had admitted that Pedro had spoken with the employees.’
b.
Con quién sabía Juan que había admitido Ana que había hablado Pedro?
with who knew John that had admitted Ana that had spoken Pedro
‘Who did John know that Ana had admitted that Peter had spoken with?’
c.
* Con quién sabía Juan que Ana había admitido que Pedro había hablado?
with who knew John that Ana has admitted that Pedro had spoken
D. Wh-islands
(11) shows examples of wh-fronting across another wh-phrase in Spanish. The Spanish examples
are acceptable, whereas their English counterparts are not.
(11)
a.
Quién no sabes cuánto pesa?
who not know how-much weighs
‘Who don’t you know how much weighs?’ (ungrammatical in English)
b.
Ese era el tipo por el que no sabíamos qué rescate había pagado la empresa.
that was the guy for who that not knew what ransom had paid the company
‘That was the guy for whom we didn’t know what ransom the company had paid.’
(?* In English)
(12–13) show further examples of wh-questions containing just one wh-phrase. The (a) examples
should follow the now familiar pattern, and the (c) examples are also like ungrammatical
examples that you have seen in (8–10), but the facts in (b) and (d) are new, and may require you
to modify your generalization. Question: describe the additional generalization illustrated in
these examples. Suggest an explanation for the new generalization – ideally, your account should
also explain the grammaticality of (11).
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(12)
a.
b.
c.
d.
(13)
a.
b.
c.
d.
En qué vía dijo Juan que anunció el altavoz que se estacionaría el tren?
in what track said Juan that announced the loudspeaker that se arrive the train
‘What track did Juan say that the loudspeaker announced that the train would
arrive at?’
En qué vía dijo Juan que anunció el altavoz que el tren se estacionaría?
* En qué vía dijo Juan que el altavoz anunció que el tren se estacionaría?
* En qué vía dijo Juan que el altavoz anunció que se estacionaría el tren?
Con quién creías tú que quería Juan que hablara María?
with whom think you that wanted Juan that speak Maria
‘Who do you think that Juan wanted that Maria speak with?’
Con quién creías tú que quería Juan que María hablara?
* Con quién creías tú que Juan quería que María hablara?
* Con quién creías tú que Juan quería que hablara María?
E. Related issues
(14) shows further examples of matrix wh-questions in Spanish. Question: in what way do the
examples in (14) conflict with the generalization that you have formulated so far? Descriptively,
how do the questions in (14) differ from the questions shown above?
(14)
a.
En qué medida la constitución ha contribuido a eso?
in what way the constitution has contributed to this
‘In what way has the constitution contributed to this?’
b.
Por qué Juan quiere salir antes que los demás?
why Juan want(pres) leave(inf) before que the others
‘Why does Juan want to leave before the others?’
c.
Cuándo Juan consiguió por fin abrir la puerta ayer?
when Juan manage(pst) finally open(inf) the door yesterday
‘When did Juan finally get to open the door yesterday?’
d.
Cómo Juan ha consequido meter allí a su hijo?
how Juan has managed(ptp) get(inf) there to his son
‘How has Juan managed to get his son in there?’
Bonus question (attempt this only after completing everything else): do you know of, or can you
suggest, any theory which would account for the contrast between the type of wh-question in
(14) and the wh-questions in (1-13)? This theory does not necessarily have to be the same one
that explained part (d).
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