A Q-Sequence on the Local and the Economy Principle

Abstract

This study explores a research question; what principle governs the development of interrogatives? As a possible answer to this question, this study proposes what we call the Force Realization Hierarchy on the Economy Principle (Chomsky, 1991), which quantifies the degree of the relative complexity on syntactic operations and movements resulting from realizing and matching sentential forces. From a corollary of the hierarchy, this study derives a developmental sequence of interrogatives called the Q-Sequence. The sequence constitutes an implicational scale of a number of discrete Q-stages in terms of the hierarchy: the Declarative Question Stage, the Topical Question Stage, the Focal Question Stage, and the Indirect Question Stage. On each stage of the sequence, each relevant syntactic mechanism operates sequentially in terms of the Locality Condition (LC) and the X-bar formats of the Minimalist program (Chomsky, 1992). Finally, the study demonstrates that each stage of the Q-Sequence is probed on the basis of the interlanguage (IL) data by drawing on syntactic gaps between the triggering force and the triggering cue (Kim, 2006). In conclusion, the Force Realization Hierarchy can function as a syntactic principle which governs the development of interrogatives and constitutes the Q-Sequence.