Syntax, scope, and semantic identity: a genuine-sluicing approach to multiple sluicing in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

This paper investigates multiple sluicing in Mandarin Chinese (MC), proposing a syntactic analysis that integrates wh-movement and TP deletion within a dual-probe system for wh-fronting. We argue that wh-probing in MC sluicing is sensitive to two kinds of features—[+topic] and [+focus]—of TopP and FocP in the left periphery of CP. Complex wh-phrases are privileged in movement due to their additional [+topic] feature, distinguishing them from bare wh-phrases. This dual-feature analysis is demonstrated to provide a unified account of the intricate distribution of shi in MC sluicing: shi is obligatory before bare wh-arguments but optional with complex wh-phrases. We further examine two asymmetric cases of pair-list (PL) multiple sluicing. To explain how different scope interpretations capture PL readings in multiple sluicing, we adopt a semantic approach based on implicit Question under Discussion (QuD)-equivalence. Finally, we address the unacceptability of PL multiple sluicing in wh-questions containing universal quantifiers. We attribute this to the costly process of super quantifier raising, required to ensure that the quantifier phrase takes a wider scope. The findings suggest that MC sluicing constitutes a ‘genuine’ clausal ellipsis operation rather than a ‘pseudo’ one.