The syntax of wek ('which') and zuk ('such') in West Flemish

This paper discusses the derivation of WF nominal constructions containing interrogative wek 'which' and demonstrative zuk 'such'. Wek and zuk are often followed by what looks like a singular indefinite article, even when they associate with plural or non-count nouns. This use of the article is referred to as the spurious article (Bennis et al., 1998). It is proposed that wek and zuk originate as the (XP) predicates of a DP-internal small clause and undergo predicate inversion (cf. Bennis et al., 1998). The head of this small clause incorporates to a higher functional head for reasons of domain extension. The 'spurious' article en 'a' spells out this small clause head. To account for the data in which prenominal zuk co-occurs with the negative determiner geen and the obligatory absence of spurious en it is proposed that in addition to inverting with the subject of the small clause as an XP, zuk may also invert with the subject by head-movement. In the latter case, spurious en will not be required hence impossible. The same account applies to some patterns with wek. When moved as heads, zuk and wek are structurally deficient and need to incorporate to a lexical host. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.