Why Chinese SFPs are neither optional nor disjunctors

• Sentence-final particles (SFPs) in Chinese are head-final Cs.
• The particle ma is located at ForceP and ne at AttitudeP.
• SFPs do not head a head-initial disjunction projection.
• No independent empirical evidence for head-initial CP and TP raising à la Kayne.
• Evidence based on Chinese SFPs invalidates FOFC.

In a recent paper, Biberauer et al. (2014b) claim that the Chinese sentence-final particles (SFPs) ne and ma only “double” the information encoded elsewhere in the sentence and are to be analyzed as “acategorial” conjunctions. This contrasts with the current analysis of, e.g. ma as an interrogative force head. The present article provides evidence in favour of the SFPs ma and ne as C-elements and challenges some of the preconceived ideas commonly encountered in the literature. Within the head-final split CP proposed for Chinese ‘Low C < Force < Attitude’, ma instantiates a Force head, whereas ne realizes the discourse-related AttitudeP, not a wh-question typing particle (pace Lisa L.-S. Cheng's, 1991). Furthermore, evidence is provided to show that the surface sentence-final position of SFPs in Chinese must be taken at face value.