Wh & self: On correlating wh-conditionals and reflexive doubling

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Chinese wh-conditionals hold a very special status in linguistic typology. Cheng and Huang (1996) argues that the construction can be properly analyzed by treating a pair of identical wh-expressions as syntactic variables unselectively bound by an implicit necessity operator. Over the years, this line of thinking has been challenged by various proposals based on the comparison with indefinites, correlatives, E-type pronouns and questions. This Insight article argues for the unselective binding approach to this particular type of donkey sentences by alluding to quantificational reflexive doubling. Our findings not only lend support to the idea that an operator-variable pair is built on a sentential scale in Chinese, but also call for a fine-grained syntax and semantics of the typological correlations between reflexives and wh-in-situ.摘要:汉语的疑问词条件句在语言类型学中有其特殊的地位：Cheng & Huang (1996) 认为，将一对相同的疑问词分析为句法变量，并藉由隐性必要 算子进行无择约束，即可正确分析这类结构。基于无定名词组、对接 关系句、E 型代词和疑问结构的比较，多年来此一思路受到了来自各 方的挑战。本文鉴于量化性反身重复的平行用法，指出无择约束仍是 这类特殊驴子句的最佳分析。此一发现不仅支持汉语以语句规模来建 构「算子─变项」配对的观点，更敦促学界对反身词和在位疑问词的 类型关联进行更为细致的句法和语义研究。