Abstract
One of the most pervasive properties of human language is the existence of dependencies: necessary relationships that hold between two elements in a sentence. The primary objects of study in this volume are long-distance “fillergap” dependencies – a special subset of dependencies that are not constrained by standard measures of length such as number of words or number of clauses. For example, wh-questions in English (1) contain a long-distance dependency between the wh-word at the beginning of the sentence and a theta-role assigning element (such as a verb or preposition) later in the sentence that selects the wh-word as a semantic argument. We will adopt a relatively theory-neutral terminology and call the end of this dependency the gap position, indicated by an underscore in examples. The pattern in (1a–1c) suggests that long-distance dependency between wh-words and gap positions in English can be separated by any number of embedded sentences. a. What does Susan think that John bought __? b. What does Sarah believe that Susan thinks that John bought __? c. What does Bill claim that Sarah believes that Susan thinks that John bought __?
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Experimental Syntax and Island Effects |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 1-18 |
Number of pages | 18 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781139035309 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781107008700 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2011 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Social Sciences