Head movement with semantic effects: Aspectual verb raising in Cantonese

Abstract

This paper argues that head movement is an operation available in Narrow Syntax (contra Chomsky 2000, i.a.). It provides independent support to a line of research which suggests that head movement can impose interpretive effects. The novel evidence comes from Cantonese aspectual verbs and their interaction with other quantificational elements. I argue that aspectual verbs such as hoici ‘begin’ can undergo head movement, which can enrich the scope possibility of the verb.