LSA.132 | The Syntax of Edges

Enoch Aboh
MW 1:00-2:40
location: 32-144

In this class, we will study various aspects of those peripheral syntactic domains, which are of significant relevance to current theories of clause structure. Since Rizzi's (1997) seminal paper on the C-system, there has been considerable effort spent mapping out the complementizer layer and studying the interaction between topic and focus at the clausal level. Several facts about languages (e.g., dislocations, object shift, demonstrative reinforcement, DP-internal topic) suggest that certain generalizations that have been made for the C-system should extend to other peripheral domains, such as the NP-periphery (or the D-system) and the VP-periphery. The empirical focus of the class will be on aspects of the syntax of Gbe (Kwa) languages. After a brief introduction to the general aspects of Gbe syntax, we will turn to certain structures (e.g., OV constructions, complex predicates, noun phrases), which point to a strong correlation between the C-system, the D-system, and the VP-periphery.

Prerequisites: background in syntactic theory at the intermediate or advanced level.