Wh Constructions and Scope Marking

(in Assamese and Bangla)

Sushanta Rajkhowa
Yangchen Roy
Ankana Saha

January 6, 2018

GIAN 2018, University of Mumbai

1
 Are Assamese and Bangla wh in-situ languages?
Structural positions Wh in-situ or not

Assamese Bangla

Subject preference for wh in ✓

pre-verbal position

Direct Object ✓ ✓

Indirect Object preference for wh in ✓

pre-verbal position

Spec of DP ✓ ✓

Adjunct ✓ ✓
Table 1
Note:
Example sentences in this presentation are from one of the languages, Assamese or Bangla, when the facts are the same for both. In
cases of differences, examples are provided from both languages.
2
In Bangla, all Wh-DPs seem to be in-situ, while in Assamese, all except subject and indirect object Wh-DPs are in-situ.
The subject and indirect object Wh-DPs seem to have a tendency to end up in a preverbal position. The following are
examples of sentences illustrating the position of the various Wh-DPs. The syntactic structures in (1b) and (2b) are
adapted from 1Manetta (2010).

1. Subject Wh: in-situ in Bangla and preverbal in Assamese

a. ke boi-ta kinechhe (Bangla)

who book-CLF buy
‘Who bought the book?’

b. [CP C... kitap-khon2 [vP kune1 [vP v t1 t2 anile ]] (Assamese)

book-CLF who bought
‘Who bought the book?’

2. Indirect Object Wh: in-situ in Bangla and preverbal in Assamese

a. mala kake boi-ta dilo (Bangla)

Mala whom book-CLF give
‘Whom did Mala give the book to?’

b. [CP C… malae3 kitap-khon2 [vP kak1 [vP v t3 t1 t2 dile]] (Assamese)

Mala book-CLF whom give
‘Whom did Mala give the book to?’ 3
 3. Direct Object Wh: in-situ in both Bangla and Assamese

ram-e ki kinile (Assamese)

Ram-ERG what buy
‘What did Ram buy?’

4. Spec of DP: in-situ in both Bangla and Assamese

tumi kar ghor-oloi goisila (Assamese)

you whose house-dat went
‘Whose house did you go to?’

5. Adjunct DP: in-situ in both Bangla and Assamese

hi ghor-oloi kenekoi gol (Assamese)

he home-dat how go
‘How did he go home?’

1
Based on Manetta, E. (2010). Wh-expletives in Hindi-Urdu: the vP phase. Linguistic Inquiry, 41(1), 1-34. 4
 Wh and Scrambling
Both Assamese and Bangla allow for short-distance scrambling [as seen in (1)], including scrambling of the wh-word [see
(2) and (3)]. The scrambled structures, however, while have the same semantic content, are not used in the same
pragmatic contexts. They often seem to place the scrambled word in a focus position, generating alternatives.

1. mala-e kak chador-khon dile [Canonical word order: S Oindirect OdirectV]

Mala-ERG who shawl-CLF give
‘Who.DAT did mala give the shawl to?’

2. chador-khon2 kak1 [malae t2 t1 dile]

shawl-CLF whom [Mala t2 t1 give] (Assamese)
‘Who.DAT did Mala give the shawl to?’

3. mala-e3 chador-khon2 kak1 [t3 t2 t1 dilo]

Mala-ERG shawl-CLF whom [t3 t2 t1 give]
‘Who.DAT did Mala give the shawl to?’

Neither Assamese or Bangla allows for long-distance scrambling, as illustrated in (4) from Assamese:

4. #kak1 ram jane je malae t1 chador-khon dibo

who.DAT Ram know.PST COMP Mala shawl-CLF give
‘Ram knows whom Mala will give the shawl to.’ 5
 Q-particle
Yes-no questions in Assamese and Bangla have an an optional Q-particle which behaves a lot like Hindi polar kya.
The positions in which the question particle is allowed in both the languages is shown in the following table:

Languages Q Particle Positions

QP S O V S QP O V S O QP V S O V QP

Assamese ne * * * ✔

Bangla ki * ✔ ✔ ✔

Table 2

1. Assamese: riju-e kitap-khon kinile (ne)

Riju-ERG book-CLF buy QP
‘Did Riju buy the book?’

2. Bangla: riju (ki) boi-ta (ki) kinlo (ki)?

Riju QP book buy
‘Did Riju buy the book?’ 6
 Islands
Complex NPs
Wh-phrases inside complex NPs with full CPs cannot be interpreted. Thus, such complex NPs are islands for
Wh-interpretation.

1. *[CP jijon lorae ki gaise] hei-jon mur bhai

REL boy what sing that-CLF my brother
‘What the boy sings is my brother?’

Wh-phrases inside complex NPs with non finite TPs can be interpreted in-situ i.e. they are not islands for Wh
interpretation. This could mean that the wh-phrase moves upstairs at LF.

2. [TP[NFIN]john-e kune lekha] kitap-khon porhile

John-ERG whom written book-CLF read
‘John read the book written by whom?’

What this seems to suggest is that wh phrases cannot take covert scope over finite complements in Assamese and
Bangla.

7
 Wh-Island Constraint
The wh CPs are islands for wh DPs in Assamese and Bangla. Wh-phrases inside the wh-island cannot
be interpreted.

1. *meri-e xudhile [CP shyam kio kar babe ro-i ase]

Mary-ERG ask [CP Shyam why wh.GEN for wait-NF be]
Intended: ‘Which x is such that Mary asked why Shyam is waiting for x?’

8
 Coordinate structure Constraint

The coordinate structure constraint holds in Assamese and Bangla. Neither the wh-DPs inside the first conjunct
nor the second one are interpretable.

DP conjunction

1a. *john-e [DP gari aru ki] bhal pai 1b. *john-e [DP ki aru gari] bhal pai
John-ERG [car and what] good get John-ERG [what and car] good get
Intended: ‘What x is such that John Intended: ‘What x is such that John likes x
likes car and x?’ and cars?’

VP conjunction

2a. *john-e [VP apel bhal pai kintu ki kinile] 2b. *john-e [VP ki bhal pai kintu am kinile]
John-ERG apple good get but what bought John-ERG what good get but mango buy
Intended: ‘What x is such that John likes Intended: ‘What x is such that John likes x
apples but bought x?’ but bought apples.’
9
 Adjunct Islands
Full CP adjuncts are islands for interpretation of the wh-phrase inside it [see (8)], and not participial [see
(9)] ones. The bole clause in Bangla is also not an island.

Full CP (C initial)
1. *meri rag korlo [CP karon kara janla-ta bhenge diyechhe]
Mary anger do because who window break do
Intended: which x is such that Mary was angry because x broke the window?’

Participial
2. [TP[-FIN]kader janla bhangar karone] meri rag korlo
[ whose window break reason] Mary anger do
Intended: which x is such that Mary was angry because x broke the window?’

bole Clause
3. kara janla bhanglo bole meri rag korlo
[CP who window break bole] Mary anger do
Intended: which x is such that Mary was angry because x broke the window?’ 10
The following table summarises the facts about the interaction between wh-DPs and
islands:

CNPC Adjunct Clauses

Full CPs Participial Wh-Island Coordinate Full CP Participial Bole clause

Constraint Structure adjunct

Assamese * ✓ * * * ✓ ✓

Bangla * ✓ * * * ✓ ✓

Table 3

11
 Scopal Restrictions of Embedded Wh I
CP clauses without an overt complementizer can occur in both pre-verbal and post-verbal positions.

In Bangla, when a wh-phrase is embedded in the CP, it shows scopal restrictions with respect to the position of the
CP. However, Assamese doesn’t show this distinction.

Pre-verbal CP: Sub CP[... wh ... ] V

1. ora [ke ashbe] jaane (Bangla)

hihote [kun ahibo] jaane (Assamese)

Possible readings of (1):

● Who do they know will come?
● They know who will come. (Only available reading in Assamese)

Pre-Verbal CP Wide scope Narrow scope

Assamese * ✓

Bangla ✓ ✓
Table 4 12
 Scopal Restrictions of Embedded Wh II
Post-verbal CP: Sub V CP[... wh ... ]

2. ora jaane [ke ashbe] (Bangla)

hihote jane [kun ahibo] (Assamese)

Possible reading of (2) (in both Assamese and Bangla)

● # Who do they know will come?
● They know who will come.

In Bangla, preverbal position, the wh-phrase in the embedded CP, can take both matrix and embedded scope. If
the same CP complement occurs in a post-verbal position, it is no longer possible for the wh-subject to take matrix
scope.

Post-Verbal CP Matrix scope Narrow scope

Assamese * ✓

Bangla * ✓

Table 5 13
 Extraction I
Extraction of wh DPs is not possible in Assamese. However, Bangla allows extraction of all arguments.

1 . Assamese: a) *kaki [ ram-e jane [CP je anuwe ti bhal pai]]? (direct object)
Bangla: b) kakei [ ram jaane [CP je anu ti bhalobashe]]?
who.ACC Ram know COMP Anu love
‘Who does Ram know that Anu love?’
Bangla:
2. kakei [ram bollo [CP je anu ti boi-ta debe]]? (indirect object)
who.DAT [Ram said [CP COMP Anu book-CLF give]]?
‘Who does Ram know that Anu will give the book to?

3. kei [ anu bhabchhe [ CP je ti ashbe?] (subject)

who.NOM [Anu think [COMP ti come ]
‘Who does Anu think will come?’

4. [kar boi-ta]i [ram jaane [ CP je ti bhalo?]] (genitive)

who.GEN book [Ram know [COMP ti good]]
‘Whose book does Ram know to be good?’

14
 Extraction II

Clausal pied-piping construction with clause final bole complementizer is available in both the languages.

Assamese: 5. a) [CP kar logot rima-e kotha patisil buli ] John-e koisile?
[CP who.GEN with Reema-ERG talk do buli ] John-ERG say?
‘Who did John say Reema was speaking to?’
Bangla: b) [CP rima kar sathe kotha bolechhilo bole] John bollo?
[CP Reema who.GEN with talk do bole ] John say?
‘Who did John say Reema was speaking to?’

Extraction Clausal Piped-Piping

Assamese * ✓

Bangla ✓ ✓

Table 6
15
 Scope Marking I: Sequential? or Subordinated?
1. tomar ki mone hoy (je) Reema kothay jabe?
What do you think where will Reema go?

2. tomar ki mone hoe? (je) Reema kothay jabe?

What do you think? where will Reema go?

‘je’ can be dropped in both (1) and (2). Therefore, the above structure could possibly be an instance either
sequential scope marking or subordinated scope marking reading.

Variable Binding Test

A variable in CP2 can be bound by a quantified DP in CP1. This seems to suggest that the structure in question is
one that has subordinate scope marking.

3. [CP1 prottekti meye-ri ki mone hoy [CP2je taari kothay jawa uchit]]?
every girl-GEN what think be that 3P.GEN where go should
‘Where does every girli think shei should go?’
However, interestingly, the sentence in (1) cannot be said without pausing before beginning the je clause. The lack
of a pause renders it meaningless. The pause might be synonymous with the beginning of a new clause. This fact
from prosody suggests that it may be sequential scope marking. 16
Scope Marking II: Factives and Negatives in the Matrix Clause
Negatives: Scope marking with negation in the matrix clause is not possible.

1. *tumi ki bishwas koro na? aagami IPL ta ke jitbe? (Bangla)

‘What don’t you believe? Who will win the next IPL?’

Factives: Scope marking with negation in the matrix clause is possible for certain factives, such as remember,
learnt. However, other factives, such as know, regret do not allow scope marking?

2. tomar ki mone achhe? goto bochhor party te ke eshechhilo? (Bangla)

Intended meaning: ‘What do you remember? Who came to the party last year?’
3. *tumi ki jaano? ei kobita-ta ke likhechhen? (Bangla)
Intended meaning: ‘What do you know? Who has written this poem?’
4. tumi ki sikhechho? ei onko-ta kikore kore? (Bangla)
Intended meaning: ‘What have you learnt? How does one solve this math problem?’

17
 Context Bias for Scope Marking and Extraction I
Context 1: John visits a doctor’s clinic. He doesn’t have a prior appointment, and the doctor is engaged with
another patient. He asks the receptionist:

1. a. *apnar ki mone hoy? daaktarbabu kokhon free hoben? (Scope Marking)

You what mind be? Doctor when free be?
‘What do you think? When will the doctor be free?

b. [kokhon1 [apnar mone hoy je daaktarbabu t1 free hoben]? (Extraction)

When you mind be COMP doctor t1 freebe
‘When do you think the doctor will be free?’

c. [kokhon daaktarbabu free hoben bole]1 apnar t1 mone hoy? (Clausal pied piping)
when doctor free be bole you t1 mind be
‘When do you think the doctor will be free?’

In Assamese, extraction renders sentences ungrammatical. So it is not applicable to consider its acceptability in this context. 18
 Context Bias for Scope Marking and Extraction II
Context 2: John is waiting for a while at a doctor’s clinic. He doesn’t have a prior appointment, and the doctor is
engaged with another patient. The receptionist is not at the desk. He asks another patient:

2. a. apnar ki mone hoy? daaktarbabu kokhon free hoben? (Scope Marking)

You what mind be? Doctor when free be?
‘What do you think? When will the doctor be free?

b. [kokhon1 [apnar mone hoy je daaktarbabu t1 free hoben]? (Extraction)

When you mind be COMP doctor t1 freebe

c. [kokhon daaktarbabu free hoben bole]1 apnar t1 mone hoy? (Clausal pied piping)
when doctor free be bole you t1 mind be
‘When do you think the doctor will be free?’

19