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Part of
Advances in Iranian Linguistics II
Edited by Simin Karimi, Narges Nematollahi, Roya Kabiri and Jian Gang Ngui
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 361] 2023
► pp. 81–99

Chapter 3
Why-stripping in Persian

| University of California

I provide an account of why-stripping in Persian, in which there is a wh-phrase remnant cherā why and a non-wh-phrase remnant. This structure looks similar to sluicing with why, in which there is only a wh-phrase remnant cherā why. I argue that even though both structures involve clausal ellipsis, they have different characteristics and the mechanism of deriving them is different. I propose that unlike why in sluicing, which arrives at its surface position via focus fronting (Toosarvandani 2008), why in why-stripping functions as “how come” and is base-generated in the Spec of Int(errogative)P (Rizzi 2001) in the left periphery. In addition, I propose that the non-wh-phrase remnant, which carries a contrastive focus interpretation, moves to the Spec of FocP, before the rest of the clause is elided.

Keywords: ellipsis, why-stripping, stripping, sluicing, Persian
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Characteristics of why-stripping
  • 3.Evidence for ellipsis
    • 3.1Case-matching effect
    • 3.2Preposition-stranding
    • 3.3Binding connectivity effect
    • 3.4Voice mismatch
    • 3.5Summary
  • 4.Evidence for the base-generation of why in why-stripping
  • 5.Analysis
  • 6.Cross-linguistic implications and predictions
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 14 April 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.361.03ras
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