ERIC Number: ED515036
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 240
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: ISBN-978-1-1096-8968-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Zulu Ditransitive Verb Phrase
Adams, Nikki
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Chicago
In this dissertation, several related aspects of arguments to ditransitive verbs are explored. The aim is to discover in what ways certain asymmetries in what is frequently referred to as a "symmetric object" language are interconnected while still allowing the other symmetric object behavior. These asymmetries are: (1) The requirement that the indirect object be object-marked in case both objects are discourse-old. (2) The ability to passivize an indirect object and object-mark a direct object but not passivize a direct object and object-mark an indirect object. (3) The ability to use the so-called "long form" of the verb for indirect objects in ditransitives but not for direct objects in ditransitives. To this end, the related features of object marking (Chapter 2) , the long/short verbal alternation (Chapter 3), passivization (Chapter 4), and NPI and wh-phrase licensing (Chapter 5), are all examined first for their basic characteristics and then for how they operate in the ditransitive verb. I find in many cases that looking at ditransitives is particularly revealing in understanding the nature of these related processes, with key properties of the syntactic structure not being revealed until we attempt to incorporate multiple objects into these processes. In particular, data from ditransitives leads me to argue that certain phenomena that have been accounted for by other means, namely focus accounts of the long/short alternation and phonology-syntax alignment accounts of restrictions on vP focus, are in fact syntactically based. Furthermore, ditransitive data also leads us to conclude that multiple agreement (as in Hiraiwa 2001) is illicit. I argue this to be true for phi-feature agreement, case checking, and focus feature checking. Though the primary focus of this dissertation is of course on Zulu, other Bantu languages are frequently cited for comparison, including among others Swahili, Chichewa, Kinyarwanda, and Siswati. Reference is also be made to non-Bantu languages such as Greek, Icelandic, and Somali. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Phonology, Verbs, Syntax, Oral Language, African Languages, Grammar, Language Usage, Linguistics
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: N/A
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Language: English
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