Focus on Wh questions

This book is a minimalist study of <I>wh</I>-questions in Polish, which aims at providing a homogeneous account for the phenomena under consideration. The discussion is set against the hypothesis that <I>wh</I>-fronting in Polish targets [Spec, CP]. The analysis relies on the idea that <I>wh</I>-movement applies for reasons of feature checking, as assumed by Chomsky (1993, 1995 ch. 3). The book offers an analysis of multiple <I>wh-</I>questions, <I>wh</I>-scope marking constructions and long-distance <I>wh</I>-extraction facts in Polish. The author argues that no overt <I>wh</I>-movement in the traditional sense takes place in Polish. <I>Wh</I>-fronting is triggered by the need to check a strong [+focus]-feature. It is shown that the analysis in terms of focus movement is well suited to capture the properties of interrogative constructions in Polish.