Universal #1384

Legacy number: 1384

 Number  1380
 Original  Question-word Fronting and Basic Word Order:
A fronted WH-question word will be preferred across languages in proportion to the distance between WH and the subcategorizing verb in its basic order: the smaller the FGD, the more the WH-word is fronted.
 Standardized  Question-word Fronting and Basic Word Order:
A fronted WH-question word will be preferred across languages in proportion to the distance between WH and the subcategorizing verb in its basic order: the smaller the FGD, the more the WH-word is fronted.
 Keywords  question, fronting, order
 Domain  syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  merged sample of 87 languages from Greenberg 1963 and Ultan 1978c
 Source  Hawkins 1999: 274

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Discussion
Notes
1. Filler-Gap Domain [FGD]: An FGD consists of the smallest terminal and non-terminal nodes dominated by the mother of a filler and on a connected path that must be accessed for gap identification and processing; for subcategorized gaps the path connects the filler to the gap’s subcategorizor and includes, or is extended to include, the gap’s dependent and disambiguating arguments (if any); for non-subcategorized gaps the path connects the filler to the gap site; all constituency relations and co-occurrence requirements holding between these nodes belong to the description of the FGD.2. The distributional pattern (VSO > SVO > SOV) below gives a clear account of this (Hawkins 1999: 274). WH-fronting and verb position: V-initial: 17/20 languages = 85%; SVO: 25/34 languages = 73.5%; SOV: 7/33 languages = 21% .
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. FILLER-GAP DOMAIN[FGD]: An FGD consists of the smallest terminal and non-terminal nodes dominated by the mother of a filler and on a connected path that must be accessed for gap identification and processing; for subcategorized gaps the path connects the filler to the gap's subcategorizor and includes, or is extended to include, the gap's dependent and disambiguating arguments (if any); for non-subcategorized gaps the path connects the filler to the gap site; all constituency relations and co-occurrence requirements holding between these nodes belong to the description of the FGD.

2. The distributional pattern (VSO > SVO > SOV) below gives a clear account of this (Hawkins 1999: 274). WH-fronting and verb position:
<table class = "textTable"<br><tr>
<td>V-initial:</td>
<td>17/20 languages</td>
<td>= 85%;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SVO:</td>
<td>25/34 languages</td>
<td>= 73.5%;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SOV:</td>
<td>7/33 languages</td>
<td> = 21%.</td>
</tr>
</table>