Focus Feature and Head Movement

Chi, Woon Joo

Article

Journal of English Teaching through Movies and Media 2005;6(2):175-191.
Published online December 30, 2005.

Focus Feature and Head Movement

Abstract

This paper will primarily focus on providing some empirical arguments in favor of the PF approach to head movement by investigating some work about pseudogapping and sluicing constructions. The central idea argued for in this paper is that whereas the [Spec, head] relation is a pure syntax, the relation between lexical and functional heads is only a PF process. Ellipsis in both pseudogapping and sluicing constructions is taken to be selected if and only if focus is involved in a situation where ellipsis and head-movement compete in PF. In those constructions mentioned above, focus feature is crucial in determining the elliptical process in PF.

Key Words: PF Approach;Split VP Hypothesis;VP-ellipsis;Focus;Pseudogapping;Sluicing constructions;XP-movement;Head Movement