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On Wh-questions in Persian

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2016

Arsalan Kahnemuyipour
Arsalan Kahnemuyipour*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Abstract

This article explores wh-questions in Persian and examines how the “clausal typing hypothesis” and the “focus-fronting analysis” fare with respect to Persian wh-questions. It is shown that Persian wh-questions involve obligatory movement of wh-phrases to a preverbal focus position. This movement is different from syntactic wh-movement in that it does not involve movement of the wh-phrase to [Spec, CP], whose trigger is a [+wh] feature in C. Thus, in terms of the typology of wh-questions, Persian is neither a syntactic wh-movement nor a wh-in-situ language; rather, it should be classified with languages such as Aghem, Basque, Hungarian, Kirundi, and Serbo-Croatian, in which wh-phrases have been argued to undergo focus movement. It is shown that Persian does not seem to share the properties of Serbo-Croatian, another focus-fronting language. Some possible explanations are provided and the theoretical implications are discussed.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article porte sur les questions wh- en persan et examine la validité de l’hypothèse «clausal typing» et de l’analyse «focus-fronting», en ce qui concerne les questions wh- persanes. Il est démontré que les questions wh- persanes obligent le mouvement des expressions wh- à une position préverbale de focalisation. Ce mouvement ne correspond pas au mouvement wh- syntaxique puisqu’il n’y a pas mouvement de l’expression wh- à [Spec, CP], dont le déclenchement est un trait [+wh] en C. Donc, en termes de typologie des questions wh-, le persan est ni une langue à mouvement wh- syntaxique, ni une langue à wh- in situ. Elle se classifierait plutôt comme l’aghem, le basque, le hongrois, le kirundi et le serbo-croate, des langues dans lesquelles le mouvement des expressions wh- est généralement analysé comme un mouvement de focalisation. Il est démontré que le persan ne partage pas les propriétés du serbo-croate, une autre langue à mouvement de focalisation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 46 , Special Issue 1-2: The Syntax of Iranian Languages , June 2001 , pp. 41 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association 2001

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