Akkus (2018) – Variable embedded agent in Sason Arabic

Variable embedded agent in Sason Arabic
Faruk Akkus
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004341
December 2018
The paper investigates the syntax of an indirect causative construction, “make”-causatives in Sason Arabic (SA), with a focus on the syntactic status of the implicit embedded agent and the embedded structure. Differing from the analyses of other languages for similar constructions, the study demonstrates that this construction embeds both an active and passive VoiceP. It contends that the implicit embedded agent may be introduced (i) as a full DP in Spec,VoiceP, being subject to Romance ECM-type restrictions, and providing striking evidence of A’-movement feeding licensing relationships, or (ii) as a free variable à la Heim (1982) generated in the Voice head itself. The latter possibility also raises implications regarding licensing, suggesting that licensing of a grammatical object is dissociated from the projection of a specifier.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004341
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: submitted
keywords: causative, implicit arguments, licensing, a’-movement, sason arabic, semantics, syntax, phonology