Partial Wh-Movement and Wh-Copying in Dutch: Evidence for an Indirect Dependency Approach

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt:This article reports on a magnitude estimation experiment investigating the grammatical status of partial wh-movement and wh-copying versus standard long-distance movement in Dutch. The results show that long-distance wh-movement is rated most acceptable, followed by wh-copying and finally partial wh-movement. Of interest is the significant difference in acceptability in partial wh-movement and wh-copying. It is argued that these results speak in favor of a so-called Indirect Dependency Approach to partial wh-movement in which partial wh-movement is analyzed as a structurally altogether different construction from long-distance wh-movement. Wh-copying, on the other hand, is argued to be a surface alternative to long-distance movement, where an intermediate movement copy has been spelled out.