A non-stranding approach to resumption: Evidence from South Asia

Abstract

Two types of resumption are argued for in the literature: (i) base-generated resumption and (ii) resumption as movement (Aoun et al., Linguistic inquiry 32: 371–403, 2001; Boeckx, Islands and chains: Resumption as stranding, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2003). The latter is analyzed as involving stranding. A DP merges in its base position with a resumptive element adjoined to it. Movement targets the DP, while the resumptive element is left behind – or stranded. This article presents evidence from Copy Control in Telugu to show that a stranding approach fails to account for movement-related resumption in this South Asian language. As an alternative, the article offers a non-stranding account and extends it to another South Asian language, Assamese.