Meervoudige sluicing en de theorie van deletie

Abstract

This paper investigates complex cases of sluicing in Dutch, and the consequences for possible analyses. Acceptable instances of multiple sluicing (with two or more remnants) can easily be produced, but there are some limiting factors. A hard constraint appears to be a clause-mate condition for multiple remnants. Other factors that influence acceptability are word order, D‑linking, and the presence of prepositions. These findings are corroborated by an acceptability test carried out with 20 subjects. I argue that multiple sluicing is problematic for the standard move-and-delete approach, and critically discuss possible alternatives that involve in situ deletion or selective spell-out. The final section is a brief comparison with fragment answers and right-dislocation, and points out the issue of (comma) intonation in constructions involving some iterative process.