The paper “Argument ellipsis as topic deletion” by our alumnus Teruyuki Mizuno (PhD 2023, now at Ochanomizu University, Tokyo) has just been published online in Natural Language & Linguistic Theory ahead of the print version. Congratulations Teru! The paper can be accessed here.

Abstract: In recent syntactic literature, argument ellipsis has become a productive perspective of investigation for null arguments in natural language. Focusing on Japanese as the primary object of study, this paper aims to deepen our understanding of the underlying syntactic mechanism behind the derivation of argument ellipsis. The main empirical observation is that argument ellipsis and topicalization exhibit a striking parallelism with respect to the way they interact with wh-dependencies. Building on this observation, I argue that argument ellipsis is an instance of topic deletion, which involves movement of arguments to Spec,TopicP, and phonological deletion of the arguments under the identity of the topic in discourse. I show that the topic-deletion account of argument ellipsis offers a principled explanation for a variety of restrictions concerning what types of argument can or cannot undergo ellipsis. I also suggest that the proposed account enables a unified perspective on argument ellipsis and discourse pro-drop by analyzing them uniformly as instances of topic deletion, thereby shedding new light on the deep typological correlation that has been observed between them.

Penelope Daniel’s article “Evidence for a VP-internal analysis of postverbal arguments in an SOVX language” has just appeared in Volume 9 of Glossa. The paper can be accessed online here. Congratulations Penelope!

Abstract: Mande languages are known for their typologically unusual SOVX word order, in which the subject and direct object precede the verb, while adjuncts and other complements must follow it. Koopman (1992) argues for Bambara that this unique word order arises when the direct object obligatorily raises to a preverbal position for Case, while any other postverbal elements surface in their base-generated position within the VP. However, Nikitina (2019) proposes for Wan that postverbal elements are located in a high, clause-adjoined position. This paper presents syntactic evidence from Mandinka in support of the former analysis of postverbal indirect objects. In particular, I provide word order, pronominalization, and binding facts that show that postverbal indirect objects must be located in a low, VP-internal position, which is incompatible with a clausal-adjunction analysis.

Mingjiang Chen’s article “A decomposition analysis of Agents” has just appeared in Volume 9 of Glossa. The paper can be accessed online here. Congratulations Mingjiang!

Abstract: Agents and Causers are standardly analyzed as external arguments introduced by v or Voice. According to this approach, the two arguments are independent and unrelated. However, evidence from the distribution patterns of various adjuncts (nonarguments) in change-of-state verbs suggests that the verbal structure provided by the standard analysis is not fine-grained enough and requires revision. To address this issue, I propose decomposing the Agent-introducing head (v or Voice) into Voice and Appl. Specifically, I suggest that Voice introduces Causers, while Appl introduces Affectees. Both arguments are atomic and primitive, meaning that they cannot be further divided and are capable of combining with each other to form other types of arguments. I argue that Agents are derived through movement from Spec, ApplP to Spec, VoiceP, and are therefore composite, consisting of both Causers and Affectees. This decomposition analysis offers a new perspective on the Animacy Restriction observed in aspectual si constructions and ditransitive alternations. Compared to the standard analysis, it accurately predicts that Agents alternate with Causers and Affectees. Additionally, it naturally extends to unergatives.

Robin Jenkins’ article “Scrambling, Specificity Effects, and Phasal Variation in Turkish and Uyghur” has just appeared online ahead of its print publication in Linguistic Inquiry. Congratulations Robin!

Abstract: This article develops a new approach to specificity effects based on comparing differential object marking (DOM) in Turkish with a novel DOM paradigm observed in Uyghur. Based on this, I argue that specificity does not always correlate with VP-externality (Diesing 1992, i.a.) but rather with whether the object has moved to a particular structural position. Further, I show the variation observed between the two DOM paradigms can be captured as a result of a difference between the languages’ middle-field phase boundary. Several additional contrasts between the two languages are traced back to this difference in phase boundaries, which is also situated within a broader pattern of typological variation.