Abstract
Bjorkman, Bronwyn & Hedde Zeijlstra. 2019. Checking up on (φ)-Agree. Linguistic Inquiry 50(3). 527–569 claim that agreement with the absolutive argument in ergative-absolutive languages follows naturally in an Upwards-Agree system supplemented by the relation of Accessibility if φ-agreement is parasitic on structural case assigned to the absolutive noun phrase either by T or by v. By drawing evidence from two distantly related East Caucasian languages—Chirag and Avar—the present article argues that this theory is both too strong and too weak. I then show that the problematical facts are trivially analysable with standard Agree (Chomsky, Noam. 2000. Minimalist inquiries: The framework. In Roger Martin, David Michaels & Juan Uriagereka (eds.), Step by step: Essays on minimalist syntax in honor of Howard Lasnik, 89–155. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press et seq.).
Acknowledgment
Thanks to Bernat Bardagil Mas, David Erschler, and Polina Kasyanova for the discussion of some of the issues raised in this paper, and to the editor and two anonymous reviewers at The Linguistic Review for most pertinent and constructive comments. This article is an output of a research project implemented as part of the Basic Research Programme at HSE University.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Obituary
- Hans-Georg Obenauer (1944–2019)
- Articles
- ¡Mira! The grammar-attention interface in the Spanish left periphery
- Italian preconsonantal s-voicing is not regressive voice assimilation
- Against Upwards Agree
- Embracing multidimensionality in phonological analysis
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Obituary
- Hans-Georg Obenauer (1944–2019)
- Articles
- ¡Mira! The grammar-attention interface in the Spanish left periphery
- Italian preconsonantal s-voicing is not regressive voice assimilation
- Against Upwards Agree
- Embracing multidimensionality in phonological analysis