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Tenetehára: A predicate-fronting language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2016

Fábio Bonfim Duarte
Fábio Bonfim Duarte*
Affiliation:
Federal University of Minas Gerais
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Abstract

This article investigates whether Tenetehára is a predicate-raising language. The purpose is to determine whether VSO order results from verb movement to the heads T0 or C0 only, or whether Tenetehára exhibits VP remnant movement, similarly to languages like Niuean, Choi, Malagasy, and Seediq. The analysis concludes that Tenetehára does allow predicate movement, to Spec-CP or Spec-TP. Either option depends on particles related to tense and complementation, in sentence-final position. Additionally, assuming Kayne’s antisymmetry theory, in which all movement occurs to the left, and the predicate-raising hypothesis, it is proposed that final tense particle orders are derived from the basic word order [Tense [SVO]]. To derive the fact that T0 can be head-final, the analysis holds that the predicate, represented by the v-VP complex, must move to the specifier position of TP. Finally, it is proposed that the syntactic trigger for predicate-raising is the presence of a [+PRED] feature both in the head C0 and in the head T0, a fact that explains why Tenetehára grammar systematically strands tense and complementizer particles in clause-final position.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article tente de déterminer si la langue tenetehára est une langue à prédicat à montée. Le but de l’étude est de vérifier si l’ordre VSO résulte du mouvement du verbe vers les têtes T0 ou C0, ou s’il s’agit du mouvement d’un constituant vestige, comme en niuéen, chol, malgache et seediq. L’analyse conclut que le tenetehára autorise le mouvement du prédicat aussi bien vers Spéc-CP que vers Spéc-TP. Ces options dépendent de particules en position finale de phrase et qui se rapportent au temps ou à la complémentation. En outre, compte tenu de la théorie antisymétrique de Kayne selon laquelle tout mouvement se réalise vers la gauche, et de l’hypothèse du prédicat à montée, on propose que l’ordre final des particules de temps résulte de l’ordre fondamental [Temps [SVO]]. Ainsi, pour conclure que T0 peut être tête finale en tenetehára, l’analyse présume que le prédicat, représenté par le complexe v-VP, doit se déplacer vers la position de spécifieur du TP. L’article propose enfin que le déclencheur syntaxique qui force le prédicat à monter est la présence d’un trait [+PRED] aussi bien dans la tête de C0 que dans celle de T0, ce qui explique pourquoi les particules du temps et du complémenteur se retrouvent systématiquement dans la position finale de la phrase.

Keywords

final particlesremnant movementantisymmetryminimalismTupí-Guaraníparticules finalesconstituant vestigeantisymétrieminimalismetupíguaraní
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 57 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 359 - 386
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association/Association canadienne de linguistique 2012 

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