Exclamative Constructions in Persian: A Minimalist ‎Approach

Document Type : Research

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Abstract

In the generative literature much less attention has been paid to the ‎exclamative constructions with an exclamative word than the ‎interrogative ones. This calls for a more detailed analysis of the ‎exclamative constructions, and an attempt will be made within the ‎Minimalist framework to determine the syntactic position occupied by ‎the exclamative word če (what). In this regard, we need to distinguish ‎between two types of exclamative expressions due to the (non-) ‎quantificational nature of the wh-phrase. This involves interpreting the ‎wh-word on the one hand in A-bar position as a Q-adverb and keeping ‎its quantificational force, and on the other hand in the head of a ‎demonstrative phrase (DP) as an indefinite article and giving a non-‎quantificational reading. We will argue that, in addition to this, in ‎Persian the edge feature [EF] on C in an exclamative clause cannot ‎trigger movement of an exclamative expression to spec-C, contrary to ‎what happens in English. Closer examination of a wider range of data, ‎however, reveals that the Persian exclamative wh-phrase may undergo ‎an optional movement to the specifier position of a focus projection ‎which is above the TP, resulting in a well-formed but emphatic ‎interpretation of the exclamative construction.‎

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ZABANPAZHUHI (Journal of Language Research)
Volume 9, Issue 23
July 2017
Pages 27-51

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