On the (Non-)Movement of WHY: A Reply to Miyagawa (2017)

Abstract

In this paper, we try to show that Miyagawa’s (2017) analysis is only partially on the right track. We believe that Miyagawa’s (2017) observation that WHY can be externally merged under TP is not completely wrong. The difference of our position from Miyagawa’s lies in our proposal that WHY be externally merged as a CP-modifier (Ko 2005) or as a VP-modifier (Tsai 2008). We will see that there are two types of WHY in Korean, and we will also encounter novel data concerning wh-less whquestions. Defending Ko’s (2005) CP-modifier hypothesis, we make a criticism of Miyagawa’s (2017) approach, and then try to come up with a (very tentative) alternative account which can explain the counterexamples to Ko’s CMH.