Ileana Paul

Concealed pseudo-clefts

This paper argues for a pseudo-cleft analysis of so-called clefts in Malagasy. Evidence is presented that the clefted element is in fact the matrix (copular) predicate and that the pre-suppositional clause is a headless relative in subject position. The proposed pseudo-cleft structure accounts for the focus interpretation of this construction, due to the underlying presence of a definite description in the subject position.

Formal Issues in Austronesian Linguistics

Foreword. Introduction. The Structure of Inflection in Palauan M. Campana. Morphology is Structure: A Malagasy Test Case E.L. Keenan. Continuative Aspect and the Dative Clitic in Kambera M. Klamer. Malagasy Existentials: A Syntactic Account Of Specificity I. Paul. The Interaction between Prefix and Root: The Case of Maha- in Malagasy V. Phillips. Another Look at Tagalog Subjects N. Richards. Raising and the Order of Clausal Constituents in the Philippine Languages P. Sells. The Topic and the Y Indefinite in Cebuano E. Sityar. The L-syntax/S-syntax boundary: Evidence from Austronesian L. Travis. Indonesian Voice and A-bar Movement J. Voskuil. Object Agreement in Palauan: Specificity, Humanness, Economy and Optimality E. Woolford. List of Contributors. Subject Index. Author Index. Language Index.Foreword. Introduction. The Structure of Inflection in Palauan M. Campana. Morphology is Structure: A Malagasy Test Case E.L. Keenan. Continuative Aspect and the Dative Clitic in Kambera M. Klamer. Malagasy Existentials: A Syntactic Account Of Specificity I. Paul. The Interaction between Prefix and Root: The Case of Maha- in Malagasy V. Phillips. Another Look at Tagalog Subjects N. Richards. Raising and the Order of Clausal Constituents in the Philippine Languages P. Sells. The Topic and the Y Indefinite in Cebuano E. Sityar. The L-syntax/S-syntax boundary: Evidence from Austronesian L. Travis. Indonesian Voice and A-bar Movement J. Voskuil. Object Agreement in Palauan: Specificity, Humanness, Economy and Optimality E. Woolford. List of Contributors. Subject Index. Author Index. Language Index.

Malagasy Existentials: A Syntactic Account of Specificity

Since Milsark (1974), existential sentences have been the centre of much debate. (1) – (4) illustrate typical examples in English (SVO) and Malagasy (VOS).1.2

Ve as a Second-Position Clitic

Contrary to previous claims in the literature, it is argued that ve, the yes-no particle in Malagasy, is a second-position clitic. Although ve typically appears at the right edge of the predicate phrase, in sentences with nonstandard word order, it surfaces in second position. Ve is contrasted with other particles that are not second-position clitics but pattern with adverbs. The implications of the placement of ve for analyses of Malagasy clause structure are discussed.

Ergativity in Austronesian Languages

Within the Austronesian family, many languages are classified as ergative (e.g., Samoan) or as having some ergative properties (e.g., Tagalog). For one particular language to exhibit some but not all of the characteristics of ergativity is problematic for an ergativity macroparameter. The same issue arises when looking at these languages from an accusative perspective: how do we account for the ergative properties (e.g., Schachter’s (1976) two subjects: Topic and Actor). One current proposal is that these languages have A-bar subjects (Richards 2000; Pearson 2001). By classifying a language as ergative or as A-bar, what do we predict? We compare the two approaches as they apply to Malagasy (and to a lesser degree, Tagalog) as a first step in answering this question. We begin with the ergative analysis, according to which the so-called Topic is the absolutive NP and the Actor is the ergative NP (see, e.g., Bittner and Hale 1996 and Maclachlan 1996). To make the ergative approach fit with the Malagasy and Tagalog facts, it is best supplemented with the exceptional accusative case, rather than a true antipassive construction. The advantages of this approach are many: we can account for the syntactic prominence of the Ergative-Actor (for control, binding and imperatives) and the famous restriction on extraction to Absolutive-Topics. There are, however, problems with the ergative approach, beginning with the nature of the antipassive (verbal morphology, the term status of the object). Setting aside this problem (resolved with the exceptional accusative case), there remains the lack of weak crossover. Unlike in ergative languages, a quantified NP in the Absolutive-Topic position can bind a pronoun embedded in the Ergative-Actor position.

Definiteness without D: The case of Tagalog ang and ng

Abstract:This paper considers the syntactic and semantic properties of two vocabulary items in Tagalog, ang and ng. It is shown that although ang and ng appear to encode definiteness (via familiarity), they are in fact unmarked for definiteness, being compatible with both familiar and novel readings. Crucial data from modification by weak quantifiers are presented in favour of this description. The default interpretation of ang and ng as familiar and novel, respectively, arises due to their syntactic position (subject versus object). Given that ang and ng mark case, it is argued that they are case markers in K° and not determiners.Résumé:Cet article s’intéresse aux propriétés syntaxiques et sémantiques de deux items lexicaux en tagalog, ang et ng. Nous montrons que bien que ang et ng semblent encoder la définitude (via la familiarité), ils sont non-marqués pour la définitude puisqu’ils sont compatibles à la fois avec une lecture familière et une lecture nouvelle. Nous présentons comme éléments de preuves des données qui incluent la modification par des quantificateurs faibles. L’interprétation par défaut de ang et ng comme familier et nouveau, respectivement, dépend de leurs positions syntaxiques (sujet versus objet). Étant donné que ang et ng sont des marqueurs casuels, nous soutenons l’idée selon laquelle qu’ils sont des marqueurs de cas de type K° et non pas des déterminants.