(^150) ROBERT D. VAN VALIN, JR.
- If there is an element in the PCS,
a. Link all of the non-PCS arguments first;
b. Assign it the remaining unlinked argument position in the
LS of a predicate whose clause is within the PFD of the
sentence.
Since focus cannot be assigned in clauses outside the PFD, the WH-word in
such a clause could not appear in the PCS and would appear in situ, yielding
an echo question. Conversely, a WH-word in the PCS cannot be associated
with an argument position in the LS of a predicate in a definite restrictive
relative clause or in an adverbial subordinate clause, since these clauses are
necessarily outside of the PFD. Hence the phenomena in English discussed
in the previous section can be accounted for in terms of (137) and (138).
Steps 6 in (137) and 5 in (138) are irrelevant to Lakhota, since WH-words
do not appear in the PCS; the constraint in (130) determines the interpreta
tion of 'T-words" like táku "what, something".
Linking from semantics to syntax with respect to WH-questions in
complex sentences differs little from the linking in Figures 41, 45 and 47,
except for the additional step of linking the [+WH] focus NP to the PCS. It
should be noted that the case marking of the WH-word still follows the
rules of the type put forth in section 4.6. In an Icelandic sentence like (139),
the WH-word in the PCS is accusative.
(139) Hverja vir dist lögreglan haf a tekid fasta?
who(A) seem the.police(N) have(iNF) taken fast(A)
"Who do the police seem to have arrested?"
This follows from the rules in (61); the WH-word h ver "who" is the under-
goer of taka fast "arrest", and it is assigned case by taka fast, hence its
accusative case by (61b). It is not the highest ranking macrorole in the
clause and therefore does not receive nominative case.
Linking from syntax to semantics also does not present any significant
differences from the earlier examples in Figures 43, 44 and 46. In an sen
tence like Who did John persuade to clean the clock? (see Figure 43), the
theory of control will determine that the undergoer of persuade is to be
linked to the unlinked argument position in the LS of clean, and then step
5b in (138) will associate the WH-word in the PCS with the unlinked under
goer argument of persuade, thereby completing the linking. Similarly, in
What was believed by John to have been cleaned by Mary? (see Figure 46),
the WH-word is associated with the unlinked undergoer argument in the LS