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Part of
Current Theoretical and Applied Perspectives on Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics
Edited by Diego Pascual y Cabo and Idoia Elola
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 27] 2020
► pp. 109–132

Chapter 5
Pied-piping in degree wh-clauses in Spanish

| Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
| Southern Methodist University

This paper presents a novel analysis of (non)-pied-piping structures in degree wh-clauses with adjectives in Spanish based on the idea in Heck (2008, 2009) that optional pied-piping cannot exist. Under this assumption, it is argued that pied-piping and non-pied-piping structures in the constructions under study originate from two different structures: pied-piping structures obtain from a standard structural configuration in which the degree wh-form heads a functional phrase in the extended projection of the adjective, whereas the discontinuous structure with cómo de ‘how of’ ([cómo … de+A]) results from a reanalysis process turning de+A into a verbal adjunct. This analysis is extended to related constructions both in Spanish and in other Romance languages, and some apparent counterexamples are also discussed.

Keywords: degree wh-clauses, pied-piping, reanalysis, Spanish, Romance languages
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous analyses: A critical review
  • 3.The proposal
    • 3.1Assumptions
    • 3.2Pied-piping structures
    • 3.3[Cómo … de+A]: A reanalysis account
  • 4.Extensions and apparent counterexamples
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 4 June 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.27.05egu
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