Bulgarian edit
ln Bulgarian, the [+ wh] feature of C motivates multiple Wh-word movements, which leads to multiple specifiers. It requires formation of clusters of wh-phrases in [Spec,CP] in the matrix clause. This is different from English because in English, only one Wh-word moves to [Spec,CP] when there is multiple wh-words in a clause. This is because in Bulgarian, unlike English, all movements of wh-elements take place in the syntax, where movement is shown overtly.[1] The phrase structure for Wh-words in Bulgarian would look like is shown in Figure 1 below, where a Wh-cluster is formed under [Spec, CP].
In Bulgarian and Romanian, a Wh-element is attracted into [Spec,CP] and the other Wh-elements are adjoined into the first Wh-word in [Spec,CP].[2]
| Example #1 | Koj | kogo | ___t1 | vida | ___t2? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloss | Who | whom | sees | ||
| Translation | Who sees whom? | ||||
In Example 1, we see that the both Wh-words underwent movement and are in a [Spec,CP] cluster.
Attract Closest edit
The Attract Closest is a principle of the Superiority Condition where the head which attracts a certain feature adopts the closest candidate available to it. This usually leads to the movement of the closest candidate.
Slavic languages are grouped in to two different S-structures concerning the movement of Wh-elements at [Spec,CP] (Rudin, 1998). One group includes the languages: Serbo-Croatian, Polish, and Czech where there is only one Wh-element in [Spec,CP] at S-structure. The other group contains Bulgarian and Romanian which have all of their Wh-elements in [Spec,CP] at S-structure. In the first group mentioned, the Attract Closest principle is present and the Wh-word that is closest to the attracting head undergoes movement while the rest of the Wh-elements remain in situ. The second group of languages, the Attract Closest principle occurs in a slightly different way. The orderof the way the Wh-word moves is dictated by their proximity to [Spec,CP]. The closest Wh-word to the attracting head undergoes movement first and the next closest one follows suit, and on and on. In that way the Superiority effect is present in Serbo-Croation, Polish, and Czech in the first Wh-element, while in Bulgarian and Romanian, it is present in all of the Wh-elements in the clause.[3]
| Example #2 | Kakvo | kak | napravi | Ivan? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloss | What | how | did | Ivan? |
| Translation | How did Ivan what? | |||
The Attract Closest principle explains a crucial detail about the order of which Wh-words move first in the tree. Since the closest Wh-word is moved first, there is a particular order that appears. Wh-Subjects goes before Wh-objects and Wh-adjuncts (Grewendorf, 2001). This is seen in Example #2 and Example #3.
| Example #3 | Koj | kak | kogo | e | tselunal? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloss | Who | how | whom | is | kissed |
| Translation | Who kissed whom how? | ||||
In situ edit
In Bulgarian, we see in Example #4, that to defer from forming a sequence of the same Wh-words, a Wh-element is allowed to remain in situ as a last resort (Bošković, 2002).
| Example #4 | Kakvo | obulslavlja | kakvo? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gloss | What | conditions | what |
| Translation | What conditions what? | ||
- ^ Rudin, Catherine (1988). "On Multiple Questions and Multiple WH Fronting". Natural Language & Linguistic Theory. 6 (4): 445–501. ISSN 0167-806X.
- ^ Grewendorf, Günther (2001). "Multiple Wh-Fronting". Linguistic Inquiry. 32 (1): 87–122. ISSN 0024-3892.
- ^ Bošković, Željko (2002). "On Multiple Wh-Fronting". Linguistic Inquiry. 33 (3): 351–383. ISSN 0024-3892.