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Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXX: Papers from the annual symposia on Arabic Linguistics, Stony Brook, New York, 2016 and Norman, Oklahoma, 2017
Edited by Amel Khalfaoui and Matthew A. Tucker
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 7] 2019
► pp. 159–194

Resumption ameliorates different islands differentially

Acceptability data from Modern Standard Arabic

| Oakland University
| Qatar University
| University of Connecticut
| NYU Abu Dhabi

Two acceptability experiments are presented which assess whether resumptive pronouns freely alternate with gaps and/or ameliorate island violation effects in wh-questions in Modern Standard Arabic. Both experiments test Complex Noun Phrase Constraint violations, adjunct island violations, and whether island violations. The results indicate that resumption is largely only acceptable with structurally complex DP fillers (which-NP) and is generally preferred to gapped structures in long-distance dependencies. Resumption is also shown to ameliorate the grammatical component of some island violations (adjunct and whether islands), but in different quantitative amounts across different islands. The overall picture which emerges is one in which resumption is quantitatively, but perhaps not qualitatively, helpful in repairing grammatical constraint violations in Modern Standard Arabic.

Keywords: syntax, resumptive pronouns, acceptability judgements, islands
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1The grammatical status of resumption
    • 1.2Resumption and Island amelioration
    • 1.3The present study
      • 1.3.1Methodology
  • 2.Experiment 1
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Materials & design
    • 2.3Procedure
    • 2.4Analysis & predictions
    • 2.5Results
      • 2.5.1 whether islands
      • 2.5.2Adjunct islands
      • 2.5.3CNPC violations
    • 2.6Discussion
  • 3.Experiment 2
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Materials & design
    • 3.3Procedure
    • 3.4Analysis & predictions
    • 3.5Results
      • 3.5.1 whether islands
      • 3.5.2Adjunct islands
      • 3.5.3CNPC violations
    • 3.6Discussion
  • 4.General discussion
    • 4.1Differences within differences
    • 4.2Islands in MSA
    • 4.3The grammaticality of resumption and gapping
    • 4.4Amelioration in islands
    • 4.5Conclusions
  • Acknowledgment
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 8 July 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.7.09tuc
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