Definition & Bedeutung von "wh-movement"

What is "wh-movement"?

Wh-movement is a syntactic rule in which a "wh" word, such as "who," "what," "where," "when," "why," or "how," is moved to the beginning of a sentence or clause to form a question or to create emphasis. This movement alters the normal word order to position the wh-word at the front, making it clear that a question or specific information is being sought. For example, in the statement "You saw the dog," the wh-movement to form the question becomes "What did you see?" where "what" is the wh-word that replaces "the dog" and is moved to the beginning of the sentence. Wh-movement is common in many languages and is crucial for constructing interrogative sentences, enabling speakers to ask questions or clarify information effectively.