Deriving the anaphor–agreement effect and the violations of it. (12th January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Murugesan, Gurujegan
• Is Part Of: Syntax. Volume 25:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 39
• Page End: 83
• Publication Date: 2022-01-12
• Subjects: ϕ agreement -- agreement failure -- anaphor–agreement effect -- anaphors -- Cyclic Agree -- Earliness Principle; Grammar, Comparative and general -- Syntax -- Periodicals; 415
• DOI: 10.1111/synt.12227
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1368-0005

Abstract

Abstract: The term anaphor–agreement effect refers to the descriptive generalization that anaphors cannot control agreement on the verb. The general consensus in the literature is that the anaphor–agreement effect is a universal phenomenon. Contrary to that consensus, in this article, I present data from a set of languages where an anaphor does indeed control agreement on the verb, in violation of the anaphor–agreement effect. To explain this dual nature of anaphors in the world's languages, I propose a derivational‐timing analysis that derives not only the anaphor–agreement effect but also those problematic cases in which it seems to be violated.