Wh/QP-Asymmetry in Scrambling

Abstract

Son, Gwangrak. 2003. Wh/QP-Asymmetry in Scrambling. Korean Journal of Linguistics, 28-2, 325-344. This paper examines traces (or copies) associated with wh-scrambling and QP-scrambling with regard to their visibility in LF. The result shows us that wh-scrambling does not leave an LF trace/copy, whereas QP-scrambling does. By defining reconstruction as a trace effect, coupled with the minimalist assumption that a syntactic object with no LF role need not be represented on that level (i.e., 'representational economy'), we arrive at the conclusion that wh-scrambling does not undergo reconstruction, in contrast with QP-scrambling which does undergo reconstruction. In this paper we account for the contrast by noticing that QPs, unlike (bare) wh-phrases, are complex in morphology, a well-documented fact in Korean and Japanese (Nishigauchi 1990, Cheng 1991). In accord with the Checking Position Preservation Principle adumbrated in Lasnik (1993), QPs, being bimorphemic, can undergo reconstruction, whereas bare wh-phrases cannot; that is, reconstruction is permissible insofar as a checking position can be preserved. (Kyungnam University)