Abstract:
Based on novel data from the native speaker co-author we provide
evidence that Igbo
(Benue-Kwa) has two types of resumptive pronouns (RPs): RPs that occurs
at the bottom of
(a) base-generation A'-dependencies and (b) of A'-movement dependencies.
While it has been
argued before that different kinds of RPs can co-exist in a language
(a.o. Borer 1984, Aoun et al.
2001, Bianchi 2004, Sichel 2014), the evidence is usually based on
subtle reconstruction effects from relative clauses. Igbo provides
comprehensive evidence from island-sensitivity, reconstruction,
cyclicity effects for the split. We argue that RPs in movement
dependencies surface to fulfill various PF-requirements (overt
realization of non-structural case). Since resumption does not repair
islands in Igbo, we can check which XP are opaque for subextraction. We
find that only adjuncts, complex NPs and clausal subjects are islands;
coordination only blocks subextraction from a conjunct, while extraction
of conjuncts is fine. We hypothesize that these contexts can be reduced
to a basic adjunct (islands) vs argument (transparent) distinction.
