On reconstruction effects in English 'wh'-slifting: Theoretical and experimental considerations

In this paper, reconstruction for Binding Principles A and C will be (re)considered in 'wh'-slifting, a construction which appears to associate a 'wh'-interrogative clause with a yes/no-interrogative clause, whose predicate typically selects propositions rather than questions. While the current view is that both binding principles bleed in 'wh'-slifting, a thorough examination of Principle C and experimental pilot findings for Principle A reported here suggest the exact opposite conclusion: Binding Principles A and C do not bleed in 'wh'-slifting. To the extent that this conclusion is valid, it favors the hypothesis that a 'wh'-interrogative clause reconstructs to the complement position of a proposition-selecting predicate. This, in turn, raises non-trivial questions about the syntax and semantics of clausal complement selection, which we leave unanswered