Final Projects – Topic & Discussion Questions Document
Dataset: Mandarin WH Questions
LINC11 Winter 2025
April 7, 2025
Submission due: April 14th, 23:59 on Quercus
1 The Data to Consider
In this folder, you’ll find two papers / book sections: C.-T. James Huang (2009) and Cable (2010). The first, from Huang et al. is a chapter concerning WH-questions in Mandarin. This will be your source of data to examine. The second document is chapters 1&2 from Cable (2010). We read these chapters in class when discussing WH movement.
As we discussed in class, WH-in-situ languages present problems for a movement analysis to derive the mean- ing of WH-questions. A variety of solutions have been proposed over the years, including overt & covert operator movement, unselective binding, and more. In class, we examined Cable’s Q-particle solution in particular. Prior to this, we discussed how one of the central interesting facts about Mandarin WH questions is that adjunct WH items show island effects, while argument WH items do not:
(1) Mandarin Data from C.-T. James Huang (2009)
a. ni xiang-zhidao [shei zenme xiuhao nei-bu che de]?
you wonder who how fix that-cl car de
a. ‘Who is the person x such that you wonder how x fixed the car?’
b. NOT: ‘What is the method/manner x such that you wonder who fixed the car by x?’
b. ta [zai Lisi mai shenme yihou] shengqi le?
he at Lisi buy what after angry le
‘What did he get angry [after Lisi bought t?]’
At the end ofour discussion ofWH in Tlingit, I suggested that it should be possible to implement a Q-particle solution in the style of Cable’s analysis that should explain the behaviour of Mandarin WH-in-situ elements, and especially account for the asymmetry in interpretation of argument and adjunct WH-elements. We did not describe how this solution should work. This will be your job in this assignment.
1.1 Discussion Topics
First, summarise the behaviour of WH-items in Mandarin, using data from C.-T. James Huang (2009). Describe in general how WH-questions are formed, and bring forward any important notes about their use and meaning that will be necessary for your discussion. Now, focus on the differences between Argument WH and Adjunct WH, as outlined in Huang. Describe explicitly what the issue that arises is, using figures (trees) to demonstrate the different types of WH questions.
Now, discuss Cable’s Q-particle solution. This is will involve summarising his analysis, and making reference to his text, to data from his chapters, and also likely including one or more structures to show his analysis. Once you have described the Q-particle analysis, apply this to Mandarin, noting explicitly how it can handle the general behaviour of WH-in-situ in the language, and then describing exactly what mechanisms you can exploit to account for the differences between argument and adjunct WH items. You will need to draw several structures to show step-by-step how these different WH questions will work in a Cable-style analysis of Mandarin.
Summarize your work by commenting on how this solution bears on our general understanding of the ar- chitecture of grammar that we’ve discussed in class throughout the term. What this means is, telling us how this supports or challenges specific aspects of the Minimalist Y-model style analysis of the architecture of grammar.
References
Cable, S. (2010). Introduction & wh-fronting and Q-movement in Tlingit. In The grammar of Q: Q-particles, Wh- movement and Pied-Piping. Oxford University Press.
C.-T. James Huang, Y. L., Y.-H. Audrey Li. (2009). Wh-questions. In The syntax of chinese (pp. 260–281). Cambridge University Press.