Argument prominence and agreement: Explaining an unexpected object asymmetry in Zulu

Abstract

In the “symmetrical” Bantu language Zulu, either the beneficiary/goal or the theme argument in double object constructions can agree with the verb. The agreeing object-DP is obligatorily dislocated to a VP-external position, while the non-agreeing DP remains inside the VP. However, Zulu also has a type of double object construction in which both internal arguments are right-dislocated. In this construction, agreement is always with the beneficiary/goal, and can no longer be with the theme. My paper offers a detailed description of these “double right dislocation” constructions and a Minimalist analysis of the observed agreement asymmetry. The analysis is based on the idea that dislocated arguments in Zulu are marked as “antifocus” and that only a DP with an antifocus feature can enter an Agree-relation with the functional head responsible for object agreement. Since Agree is constrained by Locality, a theme argument can only agree with the verb when it is the sole internal argument with an antifocus feature. When both internal arguments are dislocated and marked as antifocus, the theme competes with the beneficiary/goal for the available object agreement marker. In this case, Locality determines that agreement must be with the beneficiary/goal, since this argument is thematically (and hence syntactically) more prominent than the theme, and therefore closer to the functional object agreement head.