Escape Clause

In this talk, I explore an unusual interaction between A-movement (raising out of finite clauses) and A-bar movement (long-distance wh-movement) in the Bantu language Zulu: while both types of movement are independently permitted out of complement clauses, A-bar movement is blocked in raising environments. I demonstrate that this ungrammaticality is not a result of interactions between the moving subject and the wh-phrase themselves, but instead argue that it arises as a result of the hyperraising process in Zulu (Halpert 2019). In raising out of a finite clause (hyperraising) in Zulu, finite embedded clauses are implicated in an agreement dependency that their counterparts in non-hyperraising contexts are not; the wh-facts I discuss here suggest that the result of this dependency creates the same opacity that we find in instances of clausal dislocation and object agreement in Zulu. What can we learn from this complex and unexpected opacity profile in Zulu? The simplest approach to these patterns is to treat all instances of opacity in Zulu (and perhaps more generally) as cases of intervention for specific features.

Claire Halpert has worked on a variety of topics in syntactic theory, focusing in particular on A-movement, case, agreement, and the syntax of embedded clauses. Much of her research has explored these topics through the lens of the Bantu language family, especially Zulu, a language she has researched extensively in Durban and other Zulu-speaking communities in South Africa.

You can attend this event either in person in Ford 175, or remotely. To attend remotely:

• Sign up for the Colloquium listserv: you will receive an email about every event, including virtual meeting information when the event is remote or hybrid
• Request to receive information for this  event only