Abstract
This article explores the semantic and syntactic properties of wh-fronting constructions as well as the fine structure of the left periphery in Mandarin along the lines of the cartographic approach. It is discovered that wh-fronting constructions exhibit two salient properties associated with Identificational Focus (IdentF), namely, (i) exhaustive identification and (ii) the ability to occupy a scopal position, suggesting that wh-fronting is best analyzed as a strategy for licensing IdentF. It is proposed that two derivational mechanisms are in principle available to wh-fronting constructions: the wh-phrase is either derived by movement to Spec-FocP, or it may resort to a base-generation strategy when the wh-phrase is linked to an empty pronoun or a resumptive pronoun inside an island. It is argued that previous analyses that treat wh-fronting constructions as a type of topic structure cannot account for their different morphological and semantic properties. This view is further corroborated by an investigation of the topography of Topics and Foci in the left periphery, which shows that IdentF occupies a dedicated syntactic position distinct from that of the types of Topics available in Mandarin. The investigation also reveals that Focus constitutes an independent field that is situated below the Topic field.
Highlights
IntroductionWhile Mandarin is generally taken to be a wh-in-situ language, it has been observed that a wh-phrase can be fronted to the pre-subject position (Xu and Langendoen 1985; Hoh and Chiang 1990; Tsai 1994b; Li 1996; Shyu 1998; Wu 1999; Kuong 2006; Pan 2006, 2011; Cheung 2008, 2012 inter alia)
Our findings further corroborate Benincaand Poletto’s proposal that Topic and Focus constitute two separate fields, with the Topic field located above the Focus field, as visualized below: (84) Aboutness Topic (AT) > Hanging Topic (HT) > Left-dislocated Topic (LD) > Identificational Focus (IdentF) > lian ‘even’-Focus (lian-F) > IP
This study has investigated in depth the semantic and syntactic properties of whfronting constructions in Mandarin
Summary
While Mandarin is generally taken to be a wh-in-situ language, it has been observed that a wh-phrase can be fronted to the pre-subject position (Xu and Langendoen 1985; Hoh and Chiang 1990; Tsai 1994b; Li 1996; Shyu 1998; Wu 1999; Kuong 2006; Pan 2006, 2011; Cheung 2008, 2012 inter alia). The two lines of approach share the view that the wh-fronting construction is derived by movement In line with these studies, I advocate a movement approach to the whfronting construction but depart from them by positing a base-generation approach when the wh-phrase is linked to an empty pronoun (pro) or a resumptive pronoun inside an island. In another departure, I adopt the cartographic approach (Rizzi 1997, 2004; Cinque 1999), making it possible to achieve two goals.
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