A Problem for the Preposition Stranding Generalization

Following the original proposal by Ross (1969), Merchant (2001) has convincingly argued that sluicing (Ross 1969, Chung, Ladusaw, and McCloskey 1995, Merchant 2001, Chung, to appear) results from the deletion of an IP following wh-movement, as illustrated in (1).

(1) John was dancing with someone, but I don't know [_CP who_i [_IP John was dancing with t_i]].

From this kind of analysis, two of the most striking features of sluicing follow straightforwardly: the case-matching phenomena in languages that display case in the wh-element (see Merchant 2001 for details) and the Preposition Stranding Generalization (PSG). This squib offers new data from Brazilian Portuguese (BP) that question the robustness of the latter.

1 The Preposition Stranding Generalization

Languages differ with regard to the licensing of preposition stranding (P-stranding) in overt wh-constructions: it is allowed only in some Germanic languages (such as English), but not elsewhere. The same pattern holds for sluicing.

1. 2. English
   John was dancing with someone, but I don't remember (with) who_i John was dancing t_i.

2. 3. French
   Jean dançait avec quelqu'un, mais je ne  me
   Jean danced with someone   but   I  not myself
   souviens   pas *(avec) qui  Jean dançait.
   remember not  (with) who Jean danced
   'Jean was dancing with someone, but I don't remember with who.'

Merchant (2001), drawing on a sample of 18languages, shows that this pattern is crosslinguistically robust and proposes the PSG.

(4) Preposition Stranding Generalization
"A language L will allow preposition stranding under Sluicing iff L allows preposition stranding under regular wh-movement."

(pp. 92, 107)

2 A Problem for the Preposition Stranding Generalization

However, BP offers a direct counterexample to (4), since BP is a non-P-stranding language that allows P-stranding under sluicing. (5a) and (5b) show that wh-movement requires pied-piping of the preposition com 'with', and (6b) illustrates that despite this fact, BP allows P-stranding under sluicing.

1. 5.

   1. a. Com quem_i que a   Maria dançou t_i?
      with who_i  that the Maria danced t_i
      'With whom did Maria dance?'

   2. b. *Quem_i que a   Maria dançou com t_i?
      who_i   that the Maria danced with t_i
      'Who did Maria dance with?'

2. 6.

   1. a. A   Maria dançou com alguém,  mas eu não lembro
      the Maria danced with someone but  I   not remember
      com quem_i a   Maria dançou t_i.
      with who_i  the Maria danced t_i
      'Maria danced with someone, but I don't remember with who.'

   2. b. A   Maria dançou com alguém,  mas eu não lembro
      the Maria danced with someone but  I   not  remember
      quem_i a   Maria dançou com t_i.
      who_i  the Maria danced with t_i
      'Maria danced with someone, but I don't remember who.'

It is important to note that all the several native speakers consulted judged the variants in (6) to be entirely acceptable and mutually interchangeable. ¹ Similar judgments were likewise reported for a number of prepositions.²

This is clearly distinct from what Merchant (2001:98-102) reports for related Romance languages with no overt case marking, such as French and Spanish. Although some speakers judged the equivalent of (6b) as marginally acceptable in these languages, these seemingly problematic judgments varied widely across speakers and seemed to be elicited only with a small set of prepositions.

In the same vein, fronting the sluiced question, which has been reported to make PSG effects reemerge in Mexican Spanish, as shown in (7a),³ does not have parallel or similar effects in BP (see (7b)). Both variants of (7b) were deemed acceptable by our informants.

1. 7.

   1. a. Ana habló  con  alguien,   pero *(con)  quien, no  sé.
      Ana talked with someone but     (with) who   not know
      'Ana talked to someone, but (to) who I don't know.'

   2. b. A    Ana falou  com alguém,   mas (com) quem eu não
      the Ana spoke with someone but    (with) who   I   not
      sei.
      know
      'Ana spoke with someone, but (with) who...