Silent arguments without pro : The case of Basque
-
Maia Duguine
Abstract
Basque is traditionally described as a three-way pro-drop language, a
paradigmatic instance of the positive setting of the pro-drop parameter. This
article investigates the phenomenon of silent arguments in Basque and proposes
a novel account of this phonological emptiness. It is argued that Basque silent
arguments are best analyzed as elided DPs. This account avoids the shortcomings
of the pro-drop analysis with respect to the licensing and interpretation effects
of silent arguments, and its interaction with information structure allows a
straightforward explanation of the distribution of overt and silent arguments.
Abstract
Basque is traditionally described as a three-way pro-drop language, a
paradigmatic instance of the positive setting of the pro-drop parameter. This
article investigates the phenomenon of silent arguments in Basque and proposes
a novel account of this phonological emptiness. It is argued that Basque silent
arguments are best analyzed as elided DPs. This account avoids the shortcomings
of the pro-drop analysis with respect to the licensing and interpretation effects
of silent arguments, and its interaction with information structure allows a
straightforward explanation of the distribution of overt and silent arguments.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
I. The locus of (parametric) variation
- Parametric versus functional explanations of syntactic universals 75
- Three fundamental issues in parametric linguistics 109
- On the syntactic flexibility of formal features 143
- Expletives, datives, and the tension between morphology and syntax 175
- Mapping a parochial lexicon onto a universal semantics 219
- Aspect matters in the middle 247
-
II. A classic parameter revisited: the null-subject parameter
- The null subject parameter and correlating properties: The case of Creole languages 271
- The Case-F valuation parameter in Romance 295
- Silent arguments without pro : The case of Basque 311
- Case morphology and radical pro -drop 331
-
III. Parametric clustering
- The macroparameter in a microparametric world 351
- Topic prominence and null subjects 375
- Non-configurationality: Free word order and argument drop in Turkish 411
- Diachronic stability and feature interpretability 441
-
III. The acquisition of parameters
- Can children tell us anything we did not know about parameter clustering? 459
- Parameter setting and input reduction 483
- Index 517
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
I. The locus of (parametric) variation
- Parametric versus functional explanations of syntactic universals 75
- Three fundamental issues in parametric linguistics 109
- On the syntactic flexibility of formal features 143
- Expletives, datives, and the tension between morphology and syntax 175
- Mapping a parochial lexicon onto a universal semantics 219
- Aspect matters in the middle 247
-
II. A classic parameter revisited: the null-subject parameter
- The null subject parameter and correlating properties: The case of Creole languages 271
- The Case-F valuation parameter in Romance 295
- Silent arguments without pro : The case of Basque 311
- Case morphology and radical pro -drop 331
-
III. Parametric clustering
- The macroparameter in a microparametric world 351
- Topic prominence and null subjects 375
- Non-configurationality: Free word order and argument drop in Turkish 411
- Diachronic stability and feature interpretability 441
-
III. The acquisition of parameters
- Can children tell us anything we did not know about parameter clustering? 459
- Parameter setting and input reduction 483
- Index 517
