Recomplementation in English and Spanish: Delineating the CP space

The paper aims to provide a characterization of the colloquial phenomenon
of recomplementation (i.e., that1/que1 - XP[dislocated] - that2/que2
constructions) in both contemporary English and Spanish from a comparative
perspective. I draw a systematic comparison between that2 and que2 and
present a host of similarities in terms of the syntactic behavior and
distribution of secondary complementizers in the two languages. Thus, I
argue for a unified analysis of recomplementation in English and Spanish
within Rizzi’s (1997 et seq.) split-CP hypothesis wherein the flanked
dislocate occupies the specifier of TopicP, whose head is spelled out as
that2/que2. I therefore show that the structures of the peripheries of English
and Spanish are not as different as they may appear to be at first sight. I
also note several asymmetries between the two languages in terms of the
interaction between recomplementation patterns and other constructions,
and submit that these differences can be ascribed to independent factors:
they are due to lexico-semantic and syntactic differences displayed by the
two languages, but not to a different underlying left-peripheral
architecture. The paper also investigates the reason(s) why secondary
thats/ques are lexically realized and argues for the polyvalent nature of
such iterative complementizers. I further speculate that one of their
functions is to mark discourse. The findings reported here also have far-reaching consequences for the contentious derivation of preposed topical
phrases in the syntax of English and Spanish (including adjunct clauses), as
well as ramifications to other existing debates.