Research

Ohio State Dissertations in Linguistics (OSDL)

Eun Jung Yoo (1997)

Quantifiers and Wh-Interrogatives in the Syntax-Semantics Interface

Advisor: Carl Pollard

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Abstract:

This dissertation deals with quantifiers and wh-interrogatives, and provide a unified account of scope for both quantificational noun phrases and wh-phrases. Within transformational grammar, it has been generally assumed that logical form is represented in a separate level of syntactic representation, and scope of quantificational NPs and wh-phrases are determined by movement of such phrases (viz. quantifier raising and wh-movement). We propose an alternative, non-movement-based approach to quantifier and interrogative scopewithin Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG).

Our theory of quantifier scope is an extended and revised version of Pollard & Sag's (1994) theory that utilizes Cooper's (1983) quantifier storage mechanism. The account of narrow scope quantification in raising verb constructions, unbounded dependency constructions, and postnominal adjuncts has been problematic in the earlier HPSG approach. By lexicalizing quantifier storage, we offer solutions to the account of these phonomena.

Our account of wh-interrogatives is based on the revised quantifier scope theory. We propose that wh-scope in a syntactic wh-movement language like English requires a syntactic licensing constraint on the retrieval of a stored wh-operator. Interrogative scope in various other types of syntactic wh-movement languages is explained in terms of different syntactic licensing conditions on wh-retrieval.

Scoping of in-situ wh-phrases are also taken into account. After pointing out some problems with movement-based approaches to wh-in-situ languages, we show how our theory extends to an account of languages such as Korean in which wh-questions are indicated by question marker.