On the Nature of the Quotative Operator Movement and the CSC Obviation Effects

Abstract

The quote initial reported direct speech optionally involves subject-main verb inversion, and the inverted cases are called the quotative inversion construction. This study examines the structure of this quotative inversion and non-inversion constructions and diagnoses one previously unnoticed problem in them. More specifically, it will be shown that the quotative operator, widely believed to be involved in the derivation of the quotative constructions, is immune to the Coordinate Structure Constraint. This obviation effect is attributed to the A-movement nature of the quotative operator movement, based on the idea that A-movement is immune to the Coordinate Structure Constraint.