Comparing wh -in-situ and wh -fronting island effects

Abstract This article compares the behavior of island sensitivity in overt and covert (in-situ) wh -dependencies in Mandarin Chinese. We applied a factorial experimental design of islandhood to wh -in-situ and wh -fronting sentences across three island types (relative clauses, adjunct clauses, subject clauses). To address the variation in island effects among different wh -phrases observed in prior research, we further manipulated wh -categories (argument-in-situ and adjunct-in-situ) within the wh -in-situ conditions. Our findings indicate that robust island violations occur across all three island types within the wh -in-situ context. Consistent with predictions from prior research, the island effects were induced by wh -adjuncts but not by wh -arguments. In the context of wh -fronting, our results are compatible with island violations in relative clause and adjunct clause structures, while there is no evidence that wh -fronting from subject clauses is sensitive to island constraints. Notably, our experiments point to a clear distinction between covert and overt dependencies in terms of island behavior, with consequences for the current understanding of wh -in-situ and its position within a general theory of islandhood.