Modal raising and focus marking in Chinese

This paper presents several new empirical observations regarding some interpretive effects and structural restrictions of modals that occur in sentence-initial positions Chinese. It provides a analysis modal sentences terms the overt head-movement to sentence periphery value strong focus features focus-mark either proposition or subject sentence. proposal helps explain markedness exhibited by such sentences, correctly predicts semantic directly explains scopal interactions observed between various types constructions. also shows changes word order Chinese are not ascribable simply an optional free derivation syntax but related understudied mechanism language, i.e. T-to-C movement, roles information structure represented as formal syntax. The results shed light on how – though profoundly different from Germanic Romance languages typologically exemplifies similarly fine sentence-internal domain, parallel associations scope-bearing units with sentences’ left peripheries, neat interaction discourse configurations.