| Popis: |
Languages differ with respect to whether they allow for infinitival interrogatives and infinitival relative clauses. In order to explain this variation, this chapter postulates the “Wh-Infinitive-Generalization” that links the (non-)availability of infinitival interrogatives/relatives to morphological properties of the infinitival C-system. Based on synchronic and diachronic evidence, it is shown that wh-infinitives are impossible in languages in which the left periphery of the infinitive cannot be occupied by a phonetically realized prepositional complementizer. In contrast, languages with wh-infinitives do exhibit prepositional complementizers as a result of grammaticalization. In order to derive the “Wh-Infinitive-Generalization,” the author argues that infinitival C0 is “defective” in languages without wh-infinitives (/ infinitival relatives) where “defective” infinitival C0 is understood in analogy to defective T0def, i.e. C0def cannot bear the complete range of features specific for C0 (i.e. [focus]-, [wh]-, [topic]-, and [pred]-features). As a consequence, the specifier of C0def, like the specifier of T0def, may serve only as an intermediate but not as a final landing site of movement. |
