Wh quantifier float in German

Bibliographic Data

ID4238250
AuthorsAaron Doliana (0000-0002-9033-3110, University of Maryland, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume25
Issue3
Pages335-378
Publication date2022-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSyntax (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1368-0005 • E-ISSN: 1467-9612
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/synt.12239
OpenAlexW4292168368
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited38

This article investigates the syntactic distribution of the German quantificational particle known as "invariantalles" ('all'). The generalization that emerges is that, given a derivation,allesoccurs in any position occupied by an Ā chain link of the "associate" ofalles, that is, the phrase thatalles"modifies." The article concludes thatallesforms a deep constituent with its associate and that therefore instances of nonadjacentallesare derived transformationally, specifically by somestrandingprocedure.Floatinganalyses andadverbialanalyses of quantifier float are argued to be insufficient to explain the generalization. Three types of argument are presented in support: (a) the distribution ofallesis a subset of its associate's; (b)allesblocks derivations when it occurs in a position in which its associate would also block the derivation; (c)allesis sensitive to the kind of movement that its associate undergoes, in that it can occur in tails of Ā movement but not in tails of A movement. Further implications are thatwh movement proceeds successive-cyclically through (presumably) vP in German, that tails of A and Ā movement can be distinguished byalles, and that object scrambling is necessarily A movement in German

Arithmetic · Generalization · German · Linguistics · Mathematical analysis · Movement (music · Phrase · Scrambling · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Mathematics · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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