The That-Trace Effect: Evidence from Spanish–English Code-Switching

Bradley Hoot,Shane Ebert

doi:10.3390/languages6040189

Abstract

The that-trace effect is the fact that many languages (like English) ban the extraction of embedded-clause subjects but not objects over an overt complementizer like that, while many other languages (like Spanish) allow such extractions. The effect and its cross-linguistic variation have been the subject of intense research but remain largely a mystery, with no clear consensus on their underpinnings. We contribute novel evidence to these debates by using Spanish–English code-switching (the use of two languages in one sentence) to test five contemporary theoretical accounts of the that-trace effect. We conducted a formal acceptability judgment experiment, manipulating the extracted argument and code-switch site to test different combinations of linguistic features. We found that subject extraction is only permitted in Spanish–English code-switching when both the C head (que ‘that’) and the T head (i.e., the verb) are in Spanish, but not when either functional head is in English. Our results demonstrate indirect support for two of the five theories we test, failing to support the other three. Our findings also provide new evidence in favor of the view that the that-trace effect is tightly linked to the availability of post-verbal subjects. Finally, we outline how our results can narrow the range of possible theoretical accounts, demonstrating how code-switching data can contribute to core questions in linguistic theory.

Highlights

This paper uses novel evidence from code-switching to explore a classic phenomenon in linguistic theory: the that-trace effect, exemplified in (1).1
Previewing our results, we find that subjects can only be extracted over overt complementizers in Spanish–English code-switching when both C and T are in Spanish
Given that we know that null subjects and post-verbal subjects generally entail the availability of subject extraction, and given the hypothesis that both null subjects and post-verbal subjects are only licensed when both C and T are in Spanish, previous findings from code-switching lead us to expect that subject extraction will likewise only be available when both C and T are in Spanish

Summary

Introduction

This paper uses novel evidence from code-switching to explore a classic phenomenon in linguistic theory: the that-trace effect, exemplified in (1). Extracting a direct object from an embedded clause headed by the complementizer that is licit (1a), but extracting a subject is barred (1b). Both extractions are allowed when the complementizer is omitted (1c,d). The wide range of approaches to accounting for the that-trace effect complicates the process of converging on an explanation, so novel evidence which narrows the range of possible accounts can help push the field toward the most fruitful avenues of research

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion