Agreement Switch in Verb-Echo Answers: Evidence for Distributed Ellipsis
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: In this article, we claim that syntactic objects undergoing ellipsis can be targeted by both narrow syntactic and PF operations. We base this conclusion on experimental evidence from the interaction between single conjunct agreement and verb-echo answers in South Slavic, which we show to be derived via verb-stranding VP ellipsis. Adopting the view that Vocabulary Insertion replaces Q-variables on lexical heads (Halle 1991) and ellipsis is a syntactic operation which deletes Q-variables (Saab 2022), we demonstrate that constituents properly included in the ellipsis site can undergo Internal Merge in the narrow syntax, and can participate in PF processes from the derived position. The interaction between ellipsis, Internal Merge and Agree-Copy that accounts for these patterns of data follows naturally within the Distributed Ellipsis approach.
Source: Linguistic Inquiry
DOI: 10.1162/ling_a_00539
Authors: Gesoel Mendes, Marta Ruda, Jana Willer-Gold, Bojana Ristić, Boban Arsenijević, Nermina Čordalija, Nedžad Leko, Frane Malenica, Franc Lanko Marušič, Irina Masnikosa, Tanja Milićev, Nataša Milićević, Petra Mišmaš, Ivana Mitić, Anita Peti-Stantić, Branimir Stanković, Matea Tolić, Jelena Tušek, Andrew Nevins
Institutions: Haverford College, Jagiellonian University, University College London, University of Ljubljana, University of Graz, University of Sarajevo, University of Zadar, University of Nova Gorica, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, University of Novi Sad, University of Nis
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4400640967