Published August 13, 2019 | Version v1

Upward-oriented complementizer agreement with subjects and objects in Kipsigis

  • 1. Pomona College

Description

In Kipsigis (Nilotic, Kenya), declarative-embedding complementizers can agree with both main-clause subjects (Subj-CA) and main-clause objects (Obj-CA). Subj-CA agrees with the closest super-ordinate subject (even in the context of intervening objects), cannot agree with non-subjects or embedded subjects, and yields an interpretation where the embedded clause is the main point of the utterance. Obj-CA can only target main-clause objects and can only occur on a complementizer already bearing Subj-CA; Obj-CA contributes a verum focus reading to the clause. The paper briefly considers the analytical implications of these patterns.

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