Abstract
This paper investigates wh-fronting constructions in Mandarin,and has put forward a wide range of evidence showing that the fronted wh-word should not be analyzed as a topic; rather,it should be analyzed as an identificational focus which exhibits exhaustibility.In addition,based on the striking similarities between wh-fronting constructions in Mandarin and cleft questions in English,the paper proposes that the two are derived in a similar fashion.More specifically,the fronted wh-word is derived by movement whose landing site is the Specifier of Focus Phrase.
| Translated title of the contribution | The focus nature of wh-fronting constructions in Mandarin |
|---|---|
| Original language | Chinese (Simplified) |
| Pages (from-to) | 25-34 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | 汉语学报 (Chinese linguistics) |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Fronted wh-word
- identificational focus
- topic
- focus movement
- exhaustibility