Amount Quantification, Referentiality, and Long Wh-Movement

Abstract

Introduction Rizzi (1989), developing a proposal first made in Rizzi (1988) and incorporating an important modification from Cinque (1989) (see also Aoun (1986) for a related discussion), argues that whether wh- expressions can undergo so-called "long" movement depends on whether they are referential or function only as operators.[1] He claims that non-referential wh- phrases lack a referential index and so leave unindexed traces when they move. These unindexed traces, to be linked to the moved phrase associated with them, must be governed by a local antecedent. The indexed traces left by the movement of a referential whphrase, on the other hand, do not require antecedent government because they are bound by (coindexed with) their antecedent. The difference between the two classes of phrase is predicted to show up in movement out of wh- islands ("long movement"). Since the filled intermediate COMP in these cases blocks antecedent government, the movement of nonreferential wh-