Fin0 and Force0, and complementizer agreement in Arabic:: A cross–dialectal perspective

• Autores: Osama Omari, Phil Branigan, Marwan Jarrah, Aziz Jaber
• Localización: Lingua: International review of general linguistics, ISSN 0024-3841, Nº 283, 2023, págs. 1-20
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The present paper explores Φ-agreement patterns between C0 ʔinn ‘that’ and the local subject in eight Arabic dialects. Four distinct patterns of Φ-agreement are identified. In Pattern I dialects, C0 displays obligatory Φ-agreement with a pro subject but optional Φ-agreement with the non-pro subject. In Pattern II dialects, C0 shows obligatory Φ-agreement with a pro subject but no Φ-agreement with the non-pro subject. In Pattern III dialects, C0 shows optional Φ-agreement with a pro subject but no Φ-agreement with the non-pro subject. Finally, in Pattern IV dialects, C0 displays no Φ-agreement with the pro- or non-pro subjects. To account for these asymmetrical patterns of complementizer agreement (or lack thereof), we propose that C0 ʔinn always merges under Fin0 (where it acts as a probe (cf. Chomsky, 2000)) and afterward moves to Force0 to check the Force feature. Additionally, we show that these four patterns arise due to the interaction of two underlying factors: the Φ-content of C0 (i.e., Fin0, whether C0 is endowed with unvalued Φ-content or not) and the structural position and nature of the subject (e.g., whether it is a lexical subject, referential pro, or expletive pro).