Abstract
Bobaljik and Thrainsson (1998) showed how the Split-IP parameter (SIP) (Thrainsson 1996) could account for the cross-linguistic clustering of a number of superficially unrelated properties: multiple inflectional morphemes, transitive expletive constructions (TECs), object shift constructions (OSCs), and verb movement in non-V2 environments. This paper investigates the setting of the SIP in Afrikaans. It will be shown that the only two diagnostics that can be used to determine the setting of the SIP in Afrikaans are the presence/absence of TECs and the presence/absence of OSCs. Although it has been claimed that Afrikaans allows neither TECs nor OSCs (see, for example, Donaldson 1993; Bobaljik and Jonas 1996; Koeneman 2000), this paper provides arguments, as well as evidence from native speaker judgments, that show that both of these constructions are indeed allowed in Afrikaans. In so doing, the paper provides evidence for a [+SIP] setting in Afrikaans. The paper is organized as follows: section 2 provides a brief discussion of the SIP; section 3 provides evidence for the existence of TECs in Afrikaans; section 4 provides evidence for the existence of OSCs in Afrikaans; and section 5 provides a brief conclusion.
Highlights
Bobaljik and Thráinsson (1998) showed how the Split-IP parameter (SIP) (Thráinsson 1996) could account for the cross-linguistic clustering of a number of superficially unrelated properties: multiple inflectional morphemes, transitive expletive constructions (TECs), object shift constructions (OSCs), and verb movement in non-V2 environments
Koeneman argues that because expletives can occur in third position in Dutch TECs − something which is not possible in Icelandic, Yiddish or German TECs − they must be analyzed as expletive adverbs, with the following two properties: unlike real expletive subjects (i) they affect both the subject and the object, in that the object may not refer to entities mentioned earlier in the discourse, and (ii) they can co-occur with real expletives
This paper has provided evidence for the existence of TECs and OSCs in Afrikaans
Summary
Bobaljik and Thráinsson (1998) showed how the Split-IP parameter (SIP) (Thráinsson 1996) could account for the cross-linguistic clustering of a number of superficially unrelated properties: multiple inflectional morphemes, transitive expletive constructions (TECs), object shift constructions (OSCs), and verb movement in non-V2 environments. This paper investigates the setting of the SIP in Afrikaans. It will be shown that the only two diagnostics that can be used to determine the setting of the SIP in Afrikaans are the presence/absence of TECs and the presence/absence of OSCs. it has been claimed that Afrikaans allows neither TECs nor OSCs (see, for example, Donaldson 1993; Bobaljik and Jonas 1996; Koeneman 2000), this paper provides arguments, as well as evidence from native speaker judgments, that show that both of these constructions are allowed in Afrikaans. The paper provides evidence for a [+SIP] setting in Afrikaans. The paper is organized as follows: section 2 provides a brief discussion of the SIP; section 3 provides evidence for the existence of TECs in Afrikaans; section 4 provides evidence for the existence of OSCs in Afrikaans; and section 5 provides a brief conclusion
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