WH-SUBJECTS AND T-TO-C RAISING IN ENGLISH

抄録

In terms of Chomsky’s (2013, 2015) labeling theory, wh-subjects in English cannot move to Spec-CP since English T is too weak to label, which vindicates the Vacuous Movement Hypothesis (henceforth, VMH). However, theoretical and empirical problems arise with the VMH vindicated by the notion of weak T. Theoretically, the weakness of T constitutes a contradiction with labeling in English infinitival clauses. Empirically, numerous studies have presented various evidence that wh-subjects move to Spec-CP in English. Nevertheless, the movement of wh-subjects to Spec-CP poses serious problems with Affix Hopping and nominative Case-valuation. Thus, we propose that the derivation of wh-subject questions in English involves T-to-C raising by Internal Pair-Merge, which allows wh-subjects to move to Spec-CP, overcoming these problems. Furthermore, the present proposal can be extended to various syntactic phenomena showing subject-object asymmetry.