A multidominance account for conjoined questions in Romanian
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Dafina Ratiu
Abstract
This paper discusses conjoined questions in Romanian, where two selected WHs (i.e. a subject WH phrase and an object WH phrase) appear coordinated in clause-initial position. By comparing conjoined questions with selected WHs with conjoined questions with non-selected WHs, I argue for a bi-clausal analysis for both types, where one single IP is pronounced. I show that conjoined questions with selected WHs, as opposed to conjoined questions with non-selected WHs, raise two problems: (i) the shared IP can only be pronounced once and (ii) the shared IP has to be pronounced in the second conjunct. I argue that while an ellipsis/sluicing analysis fails, the multidominance analysis provides a straightforward account for these two problems. In particular, linearization algorithms for multidominance structure (all) correctly predict that the shared IP appears only once in the second conjunct.
Abstract
This paper discusses conjoined questions in Romanian, where two selected WHs (i.e. a subject WH phrase and an object WH phrase) appear coordinated in clause-initial position. By comparing conjoined questions with selected WHs with conjoined questions with non-selected WHs, I argue for a bi-clausal analysis for both types, where one single IP is pronounced. I show that conjoined questions with selected WHs, as opposed to conjoined questions with non-selected WHs, raise two problems: (i) the shared IP can only be pronounced once and (ii) the shared IP has to be pronounced in the second conjunct. I argue that while an ellipsis/sluicing analysis fails, the multidominance analysis provides a straightforward account for these two problems. In particular, linearization algorithms for multidominance structure (all) correctly predict that the shared IP appears only once in the second conjunct.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Foreword and acknowledgements ix
- Editor’s introduction xi
- Theory and practice in Romance linguistics today 1
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Part I. Morphophonology
- On the origins of /ɨ/ in Romanian 17
- An acoustic investigation of nasal place neutralization in Spanish 33
- An acoustic study of rhotics in onset clusters in La Rioja 49
- Mid front vowel lowering before rhotics in Ibero-Romance 63
- Plural formation in Galician 79
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Part II. Syntax
- On bare subject relative clauses in Old French 101
- Directed motion in Medieval French 117
- An ergative analysis of French valency alternations 137
- Peninsular Spanish pre-nominal possessives in ellipsis contexts 155
- On the nature of nominal features 177
- On the nature of bare nouns in Afro-Bolivian Spanish 191
- Negative imperatives in Portuguese and other Romance languages 205
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Part III. Semantic interfaces
- Another look at Italian generic sentences 223
- The agreement of collective DPS in Romanian 239
- A multidominance account for conjoined questions in Romanian 257
- The Romanian verbal cluster and the theory of head movement 271
- New challenges in the area of semantic dependencies 287
- Polarity particles in English and Romanian 303
- Index 329
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Foreword and acknowledgements ix
- Editor’s introduction xi
- Theory and practice in Romance linguistics today 1
-
Part I. Morphophonology
- On the origins of /ɨ/ in Romanian 17
- An acoustic investigation of nasal place neutralization in Spanish 33
- An acoustic study of rhotics in onset clusters in La Rioja 49
- Mid front vowel lowering before rhotics in Ibero-Romance 63
- Plural formation in Galician 79
-
Part II. Syntax
- On bare subject relative clauses in Old French 101
- Directed motion in Medieval French 117
- An ergative analysis of French valency alternations 137
- Peninsular Spanish pre-nominal possessives in ellipsis contexts 155
- On the nature of nominal features 177
- On the nature of bare nouns in Afro-Bolivian Spanish 191
- Negative imperatives in Portuguese and other Romance languages 205
-
Part III. Semantic interfaces
- Another look at Italian generic sentences 223
- The agreement of collective DPS in Romanian 239
- A multidominance account for conjoined questions in Romanian 257
- The Romanian verbal cluster and the theory of head movement 271
- New challenges in the area of semantic dependencies 287
- Polarity particles in English and Romanian 303
- Index 329