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Multiple wh-words (was Re: LUNATIC SURVEY: 2005)

From:Ph. D. <phild@...>
Date:Sunday, February 27, 2005, 23:41
Andreas wrote:
> > >Quoting Thomas Wier <trwier@...>: > > >> Briefly, there seems to > >> be an assymetry between the kind of long-distance dependency in > >> multiple wh-word constructions between, such that in English you > >> can't say *"Whom did who see?", but in German you can say "Wen liebt > >> wer?" > > > >It's funny. I've never been consciously aware of that English rule
before, and
> >when stated like this it strikes me as entirely bizarre. Yet, I realize I > >actually do obey it when speaking or writing English. The twist is that
the
> >thought to put a such rule into a conlang would, before Thomas pointed it
out,
> >never have occured to me, despite me being a fluent speaker of a language
that
> >has it.
I find nothing wrong with "Whom did who see?" I'm sure I've said that question myself, with an emphasis on "who." --Ph. D.

Replies

Andy <adchaney@...>
Joe <joe@...>