The syntax of split WhPs in Ancient Greek

Discontinuous constituents have been traditionally regarded as one of the key elements that classify Ancient Greek as a (semi-)free word order language, characterized by non-configurational properties (Goldstein; 2016; Devine; Stephens; 2000). Over the years, Ancient Greek has been analyzed as an informational-structure driven language, in which discourse-factors determine how constituents are ordered within the clause (Dik; 1995; Matić; 2003). However, while discourse-factors play indeed a crucial role in the syntax of Ancient Greek, recent works have demonstrated that Ancient Greek exhibits stable hierarchical properties, also in the right-most portion of the sentence (Matticchio; Sanfelici; 2021). Building on such accounts, this present study investigates split wh-constituents within a generative framework (Kayne; 1994; Rizzi; 1997; Bocci; Rizzi; Saito 2018; Cinque; 1999; 2020), arguing that stranding represents a specific and deliberate strategy of the language. By defining a syntactic typology of split-WhPs, focusing on the semantic properties of the stranded remnants (Chierchia; 1998; Cinque; 2010), we show that the extraction of the wh-item, which is required by its operator status, gives rise to different types of configurations, where the stranded material fulfills a clear predicative function (Chomsky; 1977; Sportiche; 1988; Chierchia; 1998; Cinque; 2010). Crucially, we argue that this extraction is licensed by the D(iscourse)-linking status of the wh-phrase , which establishes a Binding relation with the variable in the remnant, thereby bypassing locality constraints (Rizzi; 2004). Moreover, a multifactorial analysis that focuses on the clausal and pragmatic contexts in which split-WhPs occur (Grundy; 2019; Locher; Jucker; 2021), also taking into consideration metrical patterns (Martinelli; 2012), demonstrates that the stranded material is contextually given, either textually evoked or inferrable through context (Prince; 1981; Vallduví; 1992; Schwarzchild; 1999). Consequently, stranding emerges as an interface phenomenon which is conditioned both by semantics, i.e. the predicative function of remnants, and context, i.e. givennes. Based on these findings we formulate the fundamental conditions governing stranding, analyzed as a deliberate predicative strategy.