Exclamative Constructions in Persian: A Minimalist ‎Approach

In the generative literature much less attention has been paid to the ýexclamative constructions with an exclamative word than the ýinterrogative ones. This calls for a more detailed analysis of the ýexclamative constructions, and an attempt will be made within the ýMinimalist framework to determine the syntactic position occupied by ýthe exclamative word če (what). In this regard, we need to distinguish ýbetween two types of exclamative expressions due to the (non-) ýquantificational nature of the wh-phrase. This involves interpreting the ýwh-word on the one hand in A-bar position as a Q-adverb and keeping ýits quantificational force, and on the other hand in the head of a ýdemonstrative phrase (DP) as an indefinite article and giving a non-ýquantificational reading. We will argue that, in addition to this, in ýPersian the edge feature [EF] on C in an exclamative clause cannot ýtrigger movement of an exclamative expression to spec-C, contrary to ýwhat happens in English. Closer examination of a wider range of data, ýhowever, reveals that the Persian exclamative wh-phrase may undergo ýan optional movement to the specifier position of a focus projection ýwhich is above the TP, resulting in a well-formed but emphatic ýinterpretation of the exclamative construction.ý