Legitimate Termination of Nonlocal Features in HPSG

Language, Information and Computation(PACLIC 11),1996, 317-326 Legitimate termination of nonlocal features in HPSG Hywel Evans Tsuru University takigmfLor.jp Abstract This paper reviews the treatment of wh-question facts offered by Lappin and Johnson 1996, and suggests that their account of certain island phenomena should be adapted by assuming that certain phrase structures license binding of inherited features. In Japanese, Lappin and Johnson's INHERILQUE feature appears to be dependent on INHERIQUE in order to terminate with a functional C head's TO-BINDIQUE. For certain languages, C's TO-BINDILQUE feature must be null if TO-BINDIQUE is null. In the spirit of Sag 1996 and Pollard and Yoo 1996, the facts can be handled by saying that TO-BINDILQUE is licensed on a wh-clause (wh-cl). As a wh-cl requires TO-BINDIQUE, the dependence of the less robust INHERILQUE on INHERIQUE is thus explained. 1. Introduction In earlier versions of the Head-Driven Phrase Structure (HPSG) framework, inheritance of nonlocal features is terminated in accordance with the Nonlocal Feature Principle (NFP). 1. NONLOCAL FEATURE PRINCIPLE (Pollard and Sag 1994, page 164) For each nonlocal feature, the INHERITED value on the mother is the union of the inherited values on the daughters minus the TO-BIND value on the head daughter. The Head-Filler Rule stipulates that a TO-BINDISLASH value appears on the head daughter, thereby terminating INHERISLASH. Adjectives like easy, which occur in tough-constructions, carry a TO-BINDISLASH feature which allows the INHERISLASH feature on its complement VP[inf] to be terminated at the AP level. Similarly, INHERIREL carried on to a relativizer phrase (RP) will be terminated legitimately as the RP modifies a nominal head which bears a TO- BINDIREL feature structure-shared with the INHERIREL feature on the RP. In line with this, Lappin and Johnson 1996a&b proposes that INHERIQUE is terminated by a wh-complementizer which carries TO- BINDIQUE. Languages like Chinese and Japanese -- in which wh-phrases normally appear in situ -- have a wh-complementizer which subcategorizes for S[fin] with a non-empty INHERIQUE structure-shared with the TO-BINDIQUE on the C head. la. SUBCAT <S[fin,INHERIQUE: X]> c.b. NONLOCALITO-BINDIQUE: Y Condition: Y is a subset of X 317 In 1, we have structure-sharing between the INHERIQUE value inherited onto the complement S and the TO-BINDIQUE value on the C head. The Japanese Q-particle ka is a candidate as a phonologically non- invisible complementizer. In the Government & Binding framework (GB), for example, ka was assumed to head a CP (in line with the 'extended' projection principle), with raising to spec of this structure. 2. Bill-wa John-ga nani-o katta ka shiritagatte-imasu yo Bill-top� J-nom what-acc bought Q want-to-know emphatic dec particle "Bill wants to know what John bought!" *"What does Bill want to know if John bought?" In 2 the wh-expression may only take narrow scope because of the presence of ka at that level and the forced declarative interpretation at the matrix clause. Therefore, the specifications given in 1 are unproblematic. 3. Kimi-wa John-ga nani-o katta ka shiritagatte-imasu ka you-top J-nom what-acc bought Q want-to-know Q "Do you want to know what John bought?" …

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