Book contents
- Interfaces and Domains of Contact-Driven Restructuring
- Cambridge Studies in Linguistics
- Interfaces and Domains of Contact-Driven Restructuring
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Questioning a Long-Lasting Assumption in the Field
- 2 The African Diaspora to the Andes and Its Linguistic Consequences
- 3 Reconciling Formalism and Language Variation
- 4 Variable Phi-Agreement across the Determiner Phrase
- 5 Partial Pro-Drop Phenomena
- 6 Early-Peak Alignment and Duplication of Boundary Tone Configurations
- 7 Final Considerations
- References
- Index
5 - Partial Pro-Drop Phenomena
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2021
- Interfaces and Domains of Contact-Driven Restructuring
- Cambridge Studies in Linguistics
- Interfaces and Domains of Contact-Driven Restructuring
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Questioning a Long-Lasting Assumption in the Field
- 2 The African Diaspora to the Andes and Its Linguistic Consequences
- 3 Reconciling Formalism and Language Variation
- 4 Variable Phi-Agreement across the Determiner Phrase
- 5 Partial Pro-Drop Phenomena
- 6 Early-Peak Alignment and Duplication of Boundary Tone Configurations
- 7 Final Considerations
- References
- Index
Summary
Chapter 5 focuses on mechanisms that do not rely solely on the interaction between the morphological and semantic modules; rather, they are also significantly conditioned by the syntax–pragmatics interface. The chapter addresses the nature of certain pro-drop phenomena in these Afro-Andean vernaculars. In particular, it analyzes the presence in these dialects of three highly interrelated features and provides a model to explain this specific restructured configuration: (1) the use of non-emphatic, non-contrastive overt subjects; (2) the presence of non-inverted questions; and (3) impoverished subject–verb agreement. The data presented there also serve as a testing ground for formal hypotheses on the nature of pronominal expressions across languages. In so doing, the chapter offers evidence for arguments questioning the validity of the Null Subject Parameter (Chomsky 1981; Rizzi 1982), or more broadly, for recent proposals that revisit the concept of “parameter” in favor of new potential paths of analysis (Eguren, Fernández-Soriano & Mendikoetxea 2016).
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- Interfaces and Domains of Contact-Driven RestructuringAspects of Afro-Hispanic Linguistics, pp. 99 - 124Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021