How irregular is WH in situ in Indonesian?

Author: Cole Peter   Hermon Gabriella   Tjung Yassir Nasanius  

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

E-ISSN: 1569-9978|29|3|553-581

ISSN: 0378-4177

Source: Studies in Language, Vol.29, Iss.3, 2005-01, pp. : 553-581

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Abstract

Contemporary approaches to Generative syntax lead to the expectation that WH in situ would be subject to few distributional restrictions; but a series of complex constraints apply to in-situ WH in subject position in Standard Indonesian. We argue that this distribution does not follow from principles of formal grammar, but rather from a constraint on the relationship between syntax and information structure.