Author : Christian Kreß
Publisher : GRIN Verlag
ISBN 13 : 3640329368
Total Pages : 26 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)
Book Synopsis A Comprehensive Analysis of Wh-Movement in Interrogative Sentences in English by : Christian Kreß
Download or read book A Comprehensive Analysis of Wh-Movement in Interrogative Sentences in English written by Christian Kreß and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2009-05-18 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essay from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0, University of Queensland, course: Generative Syntax, language: English, abstract: This essay is going to provide an in-depth account for the phenomenon of wh-movement in English along the lines of Chomsky’s Government and Binding theory (GB), a transformational approach in which wh-movement is described as constituent movement. The analysis will mainly focus on wh-movement in interrogative sentences. First, the theory of Government and Binding is being briefly presented and the term “wh-movement” is going to be defined. Subsequently, the different types of wh-movement occurring in languages are being presented together with wh-movement at LF. This introduction of the topic is going to be followed by an overview of prominent constraints that account for illicit wh-movement. The focus of analysis is going to be on Ross’s (1967) island constraints and Chomsky’s (1977) Subjacency. The description of wh-movement in interrogative sentences and its constraints will provide the theoretical foundation for the subsequent problem analysis: Specifically, this analysis addresses the question why there are some sentences that involve the violation of wh-islands but are acceptable for English native speakers. At the end of this essay, it is going to be briefly shown how wh-movement is being analyzed in the framework of the Minimalist Program, the successor of GB and current most prominent theory of Universal Grammar.