This thesis revisits the variation inherent to the French wh interrogative system. In La[urentien]F[rench], there are many ways to ask wh questions, all of which are said to have the same general interpretation. By looking at different types of data, historical as well as contemporary, this thesis puts forward three main findings/proposals: i. the high degree of variation is due to the use of wh est-ce que, which appeared in Old French as an interrogative cleft (Rouquier 2003); ii. between Old and Modern French, wh est-ce que has gone through a typical cycle of grammaticalisation (as described by Roberts & Roussou 2003, van Gelderen 2008a, b), while the free relative of the Old French cleft remained unchanged; iii. today’s LaF wh system is dominated by the wh est-ce que and variants (over 98 percent of use – Elsig 2009), which lack traditional wh movement. It is proposed that wh est-ce que and variants appear in a construction containing an atrophied clefted CP adjoined to a main clause containing a wh operator, whereas the variant traditionally called wh in situ is generated in a structure in which the wh element is interpreted and spelled-out in the position of Merge. In addition to its theoretical contribution, this thesis helps to bring together theoretical and applied linguistics, since it makes use of different types of data, both historical and synchronic (oral and written corpora, experimental studies and grammaticality judgements). Moreover, the conclusions raise important questions about the realities of diglossia in the French diaspora: wh interrogative variants are divided according to fundamental structural differences; some have wh movement (high, formal register) and others do not (vernacular and neutral register). Finally, this thesis also contributes to the theories of oralité (Gadet 1992), since it sheds light on a complex system of variants found exclusively in vernacular speech.

abstract: Wh-questions have been widely discussed in different languages such as English, Mandarin Chinese, Italian, and Russian, but little attention has been paid to the structure of wh-questions in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Thus, this dissertation attempts to analyze the structure of wh-questions using the current frameworks: Minimalism and Cartography. In the late 1990s, Chomsky established the Minimalist Program which aims to describe the clause structure in as simple and economic mechanism as possible, and he advanced his famous research program to include phase theory, which aims to restrict the syntactic operations. On the other side, Rizzi (1997, 2001) proposed the Cartographic approach. In this approach, Rizzi attempted to analyze the left periphery domain in detail, and suggested the split CP hypothesis. Following those two approaches, Ginsburg (2009) and Totsuka (2015) unified them into one approach and suggested that ForceP, TopicP, and IntP are phasal domain while FocusP, FinP, and WhP are not. An overview of the Chomskyan model and Rizzi’s approach has been provided in Chapter 2. Also, this dissertation discussed the unified approach by Ginsburg (2009) and Totsuka (2015). In addition to the overview of the general frameworks, this dissertation discussed the clause structure such as the word order, left periphery domain (i.e., CP), and resumption in MSA. Furthermore, Chapter 2 presented the earlier studies on the wh-questions in MSA and highlighted the major gap which this dissertation attempts to fill. In these studies the structure of wh-questions in MSA were mis-analyzed because the surface structure of the nine wh-questions might look the same, but, in fact, they are not. Therefore, this dissertation attempts to (re)study the structure of wh-questions with taking into consideration the resumption and [definiteness]. In Chapter 3, the methodology and corpus analysis, which is used in collecting the wh-questions in MSA, are discussed. Finally, Chapter 4 analyzed the corpus findings based on the unified approach by Ginsburg (2009) and Totsuka (2015) and showed some evidence that man ‘who’ and ayy ‘which’ questions in MSA are in phasal phrase (i.e., IntP) while the rest of wh-questions are not. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2017

In this thesis, I analyze three positions of the wh-word in Malay and attempt to explain what accounts for the differences between them. Specifically, I consider if the movement of the wh-interrogative is really wh-movement or if something else is going on. In regard to the the in-situ wh-words and the partially moved wh-words, I consider whether these move covertly and if they do, if this is feature movement or covert phrasal movement.

No description available.

La linguistique est une science et en tant que telle se doit d’avancer des explications sur les faits de langue. Notre objet est l'interrogation. Notre méthode est inspirée des sciences naturelles. Après un survol théorique, nous tentons de situer l'émergence de l'interrogation parmi un ensemble des phénomènes linguistiques et cognitifs. L'interrogation apparaît entre la deuxième et troisième année chez l'enfant. Les animaux ne possèdent pas l'interrogation, ce qui laisse penser que l’interrogation est un phénomène essentiellement humain. Les mots interrogatifs en wh- concentrent les propriétés fondamentales de l’interrogation et on en trouve d’ailleurs des équivalents dans presque toutes les langues du monde. Le logogène wh- repose sur des mécanismes neurologiques précis, que nous tentons d’identifier grâce aux apports récents des neurosciences. Nous procédons à des études de cas tirés du corpus Lara, qui est disponible dans la base de données CHILDES. Il existe une corrélation entre complexité syntaxique et questions élaborées. Nous le montrons de manière quantitative et qualitative. Nous étudions aussi les wh-words et leurs collocations pour mettre en évidence un réseau. L'interrogation a joué un rôle important dans l'évolution de notre espèce, à travers la mutation du gène myh16. L'interrogation permet l'accès à une sémantique élaborée. L'interrogation est présente à la source de la philosophie occidentale. L'interrogation est au fondement de l'interaction langagière. / Linguisticsis a science and as a such must explain the facts of language. Our method draws its inspiration from biology. After reviewing the relevant literature, we attempt to relate the emergence of interrogation to other cognitive and linguistic phenomena. Interrogation appears in child language between the ages of two and three. Interestingly, numerous studies have established that animals do not use questions, so that interrogation seems to be an intrinsically human process. Wh- question words epitomize interrogation and almost every language has them. The logogen wh- has a precise neurological base. We study the Lara Corpus extracted from the CHILDES database. There is a correlation between MLU and the complexity of questions asked by the child. We also study wh- words and their collocations to highlight the existence of a network. This network allows us to elaborate a Minimal Mind Design. Interrogation emerged after the mutation of myh16 in our species and is body-based. It provides access to elaborate semantics and has played a crucial role in Western philosophy. Interrogation is the foundation of language-based interactions.

Ce mémoire examine les questions à mouvement multiple en bulgare, en accordant une importance particulière aux mécanismes qui régissent l’ordre des syntagmes interrogatifs antéposés. Outre la présentation d’un phénomène linguistique complexe et très intéressant, l’étude propose un aperçu critique des hypothèses les plus importantes émises au fil des ans à propos des interrogatives multiples. Dans un premier temps, nous discutons des différentes approches renfermant l’idée que l’ordre des mots interrogatifs au début de la proposition dépend entièrement des règles syntaxiques. Ensuite, nous présentons les analyses qui tentent d’expliquer la problématique en faisant appel à des traits spécifiques des syntagmes Qu-, tels que [animé] ou [lié au discours]. Le rôle de la topicalisation et de la focalisation dans la formation des questions multiples, les projections fonctionnelles de la « périphérie gauche » en bulgare accueillant différents syntagmes, ainsi que la résomption comptent également parmi les sujets traités dans ce mémoire. / This study examines multiple Wh-interrogatives in Bulgarian, with particular reference to the mechanisms responsible for the order of fronted Wh- phrases. Apart from describing an interesting and quite complex linguistic phenomenon, this study offers a critical review of the main hypotheses that have been adduced to account for the properties of multiple interrogatives. First, we discuss the different approaches that attribute the order of fronted Wh-phrases entirely to syntactic rules. Next, we examine those analyses which seek to explain the phenomenon by appealing to specific features pertaining to Wh-phrases, namely [animate] or [discourse-linked]. Other topics discussed in the present study include the role of topicalization and focalization in multiple interrogative formation, the possibility that the functional projections of the Bulgarian left periphery may host various Wh-phrases, as well as the role and distribution of resumptive pronouns.

Das Aussterberisiko einer Art ist nicht zufällig, sondern wird von mehreren Faktoren bestimmt, die geografische, ökologische und morphologische Merkmale umfassen. Einige dieser Merkmale sind Teil der Kriterien zur Einschätzung der Gefährdung einer Art, wie zum Beispiel in der Roten Liste der IUCN. Diese Beurteilungen sind ein wichtiges Werkzeug für den Artenschutz, da sie eine Verteilung der Maßnahmen auf die am stärksten gefährdeten Arten ermöglichen. Dies ist besonders wichtig für Amphibien, die Wirbeltiergruppe mit dem derzeit höchsten Anteil an bedrohten Arten. Bei einem großen Teil der Arten fehlt jedoch eine Einschätzung des Aussterberisikos. Weiter mangelt es auch an einer endgültigen Verifizierung des Einflusses der genutzten Merkmale auf das Aussterberisiko, da Aussterbeereignisse auf neontologischen Zeitskalen schwer zu erkennen sind. Der Fossilbericht stellt ein enormes Archiv an bereits geschehenen Aussterbeereignissen dar und bietet die Möglichkeit den Einfluss bestimmter Merkmale auf die Gefährdung zu testen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit untersuche ich Merkmale von Amphibienarten, die zum Aussterberisiko dieser zunehmend gefährdeten Gruppe beitragen und bestätige die Bedeutung der geographischen Reichweite für das Aussterberisiko. Die in dem sich aktuell entwickelnden Gebiet Conservation Paleobiology angesiedelte Arbeit konzentriert sich auf die Verbindung von paläontologischen und neontologischen Daten, und wie diese Kombination dazu beitragen kann das Wissen über Aussterberisiko-beeinflussende Faktoren zu erweitern. Dies wird durch die Analyse verschiedener im Fossilbericht überlieferter Artmerkmale und der Kombination der Erkenntnisse mit Ergebnissen der Roten Liste und Klimadaten erreicht. In meiner Arbeit zeige ich mögliche Anwendungen des Fossilberichts auf aktuellen Themen des Artenschutzes und wie eine Kombination beider Bereiche zum tieferen Verständnis von Gefährdungsfaktoren beitragen kann. / The extinction risk of a species is not random, but rather shaped by several factors comprising geographical, environmental and morphological traits. Some of these traits have been incorporated in assessment procedures for the classification of extant species' extinction risk, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. These assessments are an important tool for conservation purposes, as they direct the available resources to species that are most reliant on support. This is especially important for amphibians, which are the the most endangered terrestrial vertebrate taxon today. However, a large number of species lack an assessment for extinction risk. Also, additional verification of the general influence of incorporated traits on extinction risk is needed, as real extinction events are difficult to detect on neontological time scales. The fossil record offers the opportunity to test the influence of certain traits on extinction risk as it provides an enormous archive of extinction events that already happened. In this thesis, I examine traits in amphibian species that contribute to the extinction risk of this increasingly endangered group and provide support for the importance of geographic range size on the extinction risk of species. Placed in the developing field of Conservation Paleobiology, the study concentrates on the connection between paleontological and neontological data and how this unique combination can add to the knowledge about traits that shaped the extinction risk of amphibian species. This is achieved by investigating species traits, conserved in the amphibian fossil record, and combining these findings with results from the IUCN Red List and climate data. The present dissertation shows possible applications of the fossil record to current questions in conservation biology and shows how a combination of both fields contributes to the understanding of factors that influence the extinction risk of species.

Esta Tese, intitulada Análise morfossintática das construções-Q no português falado em Cabo Verde (PCV), consiste na primeira descrição e análise morfossintática do grupo de construções denominada na literatura como construções-Wh e seus respectivos subgrupos construções relativas, interrogativas-Wh e construções clivadas no português falado em Cabo Verde (doravante PCV). A descrição e análise apresentadas são: (i) feitas a partir de um conjunto de corpora inéditos, coletados durante três trabalhos de campo, realizados de acordo com as técnicas da linguística de campo; e (ii) embasadas na Teoria da Gramática, sob a perspectiva minimalista de derivação por fases phases (CHOMSKY, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008). Os resultados obtidos corroboram a proposta inicial de que: (i) os falantes caboverdianos possuem diferentes graus de competência linguística em PCV. Esta variedade linguística ainda que não língua primeira dos caboverdianos, entra para vida destes, ainda que apenas nas competências auditiva e perceptiva, desde a primeira infância; (ii) o processo de educação formal desenvolve, posteriormente, as competências leitura e escrita, buscando aproximar a gramática do PCV da do Português Europeu, em um processo que gera resultados diferentes, a nível individual, dependendo do grau de uso do PCV pelo falante caboverdiano; (iii) a análise das construções-Wh corroboram o PCV como uma variedade autóctone da língua portuguesa em formação, em estreita relação de contato linguístico e cuja origem pode ser traçada como sendo concomitante ao crioulo caboverdiano (doravante CCV); (iv) nos aspectos gramaticais em que o PCV se diverge do PE, ainda que convergentes com o CCV, não podem ser tomadas, categoricamente, como casos de transferências do CCV para o PCV, pois tais fenômenos são observados também em outras variedades da língua portuguesa no mundo. Na parte de análise são apresentadas propostas derivacionais para as relativas, interrogativas-Wh e construções clivadas. No que diz respeito às clivadas, é feita uma proposta derivacional monoclausal, que consiste na reformulação da proposta apresentada por um grupo de pesquisadores que divergem da proposta tradicional que se vê na literatura para esse tipo de sentenças. / This Thesis, entitled \"Morphosyntactic analysis of the Wh-constructions in the Portuguese spoken in Cape Verde (PCV)\", consists of the first morphosyntactic description and analysis of a group of construction called Wh-construction in the literature and their subgroups relative constructions, Wh-interrogatives and cleft constructions in the Portuguese spoken in Cape Verde Islands (hereinafter PCV). The analysis and description presented are: (i) done from a set of an original group of corpora collected during three field works, carried out in accordance with the techniques of field linguistics; and (ii) based on Grammar Theory, under the minimalist perspective of derivation by phases - (Chomsky, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008). The results obtained corroborate the initial proposal that: (i) the Cape Verdean speakers present different degrees of linguistic competence in PCV. This linguistic variety, although not the first language of the Cape Verdeans, enters their lives, although only in the auditory and perceptive skills, from early childhood; (ii) the formal education process later develops the reading and writing skills, aiming to bring the grammar of the PCV closer to European Portuguese, in a process that generates different results at the individual level, depending on the degree of use of the PCV by the Cape Verdean speaker; (iii) The analysis of the Wh-constructions corroborate the PCV as an autochthonous variety of the Portuguese language in formation, in close relation of linguistic contact and whose origin can be traced as concomitant with that of the CCV; (iv) with regards to the grammatical aspects in which the PCV diverges from the Europiam Portuguese, although convergent with the CVC, cannot be taken categorically as cases of \'transfer\' from the CCV to the PCV, since such phenomena are also observed in other varieties of the Portuguese language in the world. In the part of analysis are presented derivational proposals for the relative, interrogatives-Wh and cleft constructions. With regard to the clefts, a derivational monoclausal proposal is made, which consists of the reformulation of the proposal presented by a group of researchers that diverge from the traditional proposal that is seen in the literature for this type of sentences.

Este estudo tem por objetivo investigar o comportamento das crianças com Distúrbio Específico de Linguagem (doravante DEL) em relação à produção de uma estrutura sintática complexa, a interrogativa QU de longa distância (doravante pergunta QULD) no português brasileiro, e compará-lo ao das crianças com Desenvolvimento Típico (doravante DT). Foram coletados dados desses 2 grupos de crianças (DEL e DT) entre 5 e 11 anos de idade. Utilizou-se a metodologia de eliciação, implantada em Thornton (1990), para realizar o experimento. Foram eliciadas 16 perguntas QU LD para cada criança, sendo que 8 dessas perguntas eram com extração de sujeito (4 QU nu e 4 QU+N) e 8 com extração de objeto (4 QU nu e 4 QU+N). Os dados da produção dos 2 grupos foram comparados e observou-se que as crianças de ambos os grupos dominam a estrutura de pergunta-QU LD a partir dos 5 anos. Contudo, a produção de tal estrutura sintática pelo grupo das crianças com DEL (36,65%) mostrou-se menos frequente do que a produção do grupo com DT (89,70%), sugerindo que o grupo com DEL enfrenta dificuldades com as estruturas complexas que envolvem movimento. Considerando-se a produção das crianças com DEL, as perguntas-QU de objeto foram produzidas a taxas semelhantes às perguntas QU de sujeito (QU-que simples de sujeito com movimento-QU (44,44%) e QU simples de objeto (55,55%)) pelo grupo com DEL. A análise dos dados nos sugere que as crianças com DEL, embora apresentem dificuldades relacionadas aos movimentos sintáticos, são capazes de processar ambas as estruturas, diferentemente do que outros estudos com essa população encontrou (por exemplo, Van der Lely e Battell (2003) e Friedmman e Novogrodsky, (2011)). Curiosamente, as crianças não produziram perguntasQU com QU in situ, embora a produção de tal estrutura fosse esperada como uma estratégia de minimização de custo de processamento da informação, algo que foi encontrado em estudos anteriores (como em Corrêa e Augusto (2011)). / The present study investigates the behavior of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) when producing the complex syntactic structure of Long Distance WH- Question and compares it to the production of the same structure by Typically Developing children (TD) at the age of language acquisition in Brazilian Portuguese. Data was taken from 2 groups of children (TD and SLI) aged from 5 to 11 years old. The elicitation method, implemented by Thornton (1990), was used for the experiment. 16 WH-questions were elicited from each child, i.e., 8 with object extraction (4 WH-bare and 4 WHICH+N) and 8 with subject extraction (4 WH-bare and 4 WHICH+N). Data obtained from the 2 groups showed that TD children as well as the SLI group master the complex WH-questions at the age of 5, however, SLI children produced this syntactic structure less frequently (36,65%) than the TD group (89,70%). SLI children certainly faced difficulties in producing it. However, this group of children produced WH-questions with object extraction (55,55%) as frequently as the production of the WH-questions with subject extraction (44,44%). Data analysis suggests that SLI children are able to deal with both syntactic structures (subject and object WH-questions) the same way. SLI children did not produce WH- in situ (a syntactic structure licensed in Brazilian Portuguese).

Este estudo tem por objetivo investigar o comportamento das crianças com Distúrbio Específico de Linguagem (doravante DEL) em relação à produção de uma estrutura sintática complexa, a interrogativa QU de longa distância (doravante pergunta QULD) no português brasileiro, e compará-lo ao das crianças com Desenvolvimento Típico (doravante DT). Foram coletados dados desses 2 grupos de crianças (DEL e DT) entre 5 e 11 anos de idade. Utilizou-se a metodologia de eliciação, implantada em Thornton (1990), para realizar o experimento. Foram eliciadas 16 perguntas QU LD para cada criança, sendo que 8 dessas perguntas eram com extração de sujeito (4 QU nu e 4 QU+N) e 8 com extração de objeto (4 QU nu e 4 QU+N). Os dados da produção dos 2 grupos foram comparados e observou-se que as crianças de ambos os grupos dominam a estrutura de pergunta-QU LD a partir dos 5 anos. Contudo, a produção de tal estrutura sintática pelo grupo das crianças com DEL (36,65%) mostrou-se menos frequente do que a produção do grupo com DT (89,70%), sugerindo que o grupo com DEL enfrenta dificuldades com as estruturas complexas que envolvem movimento. Considerando-se a produção das crianças com DEL, as perguntas-QU de objeto foram produzidas a taxas semelhantes às perguntas QU de sujeito (QU-que simples de sujeito com movimento-QU (44,44%) e QU simples de objeto (55,55%)) pelo grupo com DEL. A análise dos dados nos sugere que as crianças com DEL, embora apresentem dificuldades relacionadas aos movimentos sintáticos, são capazes de processar ambas as estruturas, diferentemente do que outros estudos com essa população encontrou (por exemplo, Van der Lely e Battell (2003) e Friedmman e Novogrodsky, (2011)). Curiosamente, as crianças não produziram perguntasQU com QU in situ, embora a produção de tal estrutura fosse esperada como uma estratégia de minimização de custo de processamento da informação, algo que foi encontrado em estudos anteriores (como em Corrêa e Augusto (2011)). / The present study investigates the behavior of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) when producing the complex syntactic structure of Long Distance WH- Question and compares it to the production of the same structure by Typically Developing children (TD) at the age of language acquisition in Brazilian Portuguese. Data was taken from 2 groups of children (TD and SLI) aged from 5 to 11 years old. The elicitation method, implemented by Thornton (1990), was used for the experiment. 16 WH-questions were elicited from each child, i.e., 8 with object extraction (4 WH-bare and 4 WHICH+N) and 8 with subject extraction (4 WH-bare and 4 WHICH+N). Data obtained from the 2 groups showed that TD children as well as the SLI group master the complex WH-questions at the age of 5, however, SLI children produced this syntactic structure less frequently (36,65%) than the TD group (89,70%). SLI children certainly faced difficulties in producing it. However, this group of children produced WH-questions with object extraction (55,55%) as frequently as the production of the WH-questions with subject extraction (44,44%). Data analysis suggests that SLI children are able to deal with both syntactic structures (subject and object WH-questions) the same way. SLI children did not produce WH- in situ (a syntactic structure licensed in Brazilian Portuguese).