Difference between revisions of "Resumptive pronoun"

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In [[generative syntax]], resumptive pronouns are seen as an alternative strategy to movement (Haegeman  1994: 409), they are spell-out forms, where otherwise (i.e. if movement would have applied properly) only invisible [[trace]]s would be left.
 
In [[generative syntax]], resumptive pronouns are seen as an alternative strategy to movement (Haegeman  1994: 409), they are spell-out forms, where otherwise (i.e. if movement would have applied properly) only invisible [[trace]]s would be left.
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'''Resumptive pronoun''' is a pronoun which appears in the position of the [[variable]] bound by a ''wh''-phrase.
  
 
===Examples===
 
===Examples===
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'Here is the man that Marie has talked to' (cited after Haegeman 1994: 409)
 
'Here is the man that Marie has talked to' (cited after Haegeman 1994: 409)
  
===Reference===
 
  
*Haegeman, Liliane. 1994. ''Introduction to Government and Binding Theory.'' 2nd Edn. Oxford: Blackwell.
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in (i) ''him'' is a resumptive pronoun bound by ''who'' and interpreted as a [[bound variable]].
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(i) I wonder [who<sub>i </sub>they think [that [if Mary marries him<sub>i </sub>] then
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    everybody will be happy]]
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The appearance of resumptive pronouns is marginal in standard English, but quite acceptable in French and colloquial English. Theoretically, the construction is exceptional as well. Since the ''if''-clause creates an [[Adjunct]] Island, extraction of ''who'' out of the object position of ''marries'' is ungrammatical, as shown in (ii):
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(ii) * I wonder [who<sub>i </sub>they think [that [if Mary marries e<sub>i </sub>] then
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        everybody will be happy]]
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The resulting [[chain]] presumably violates [[subjacency]]. In (i), on the other hand, ''who'' has not been moved. But being an operator, it must bind a variable, in this case the resumptive pronoun ''him''.
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=== Links ===
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[http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Resumptive+pronoun&lemmacode=344 Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]
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=== References ===
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* Chomsky, N. 1982. ''Some concepts and consequences of the theory of government and binding,'' MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
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* Chomsky, N. 1981. ''Lectures on Government and Binding,'' Foris, Dordrecht.
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* Haegeman, Liliane. 1994. ''Introduction to Government and Binding Theory.'' 2nd Edn. Oxford: Blackwell.
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* Zribi-Hertz, A. 1984. ''Orphan prepositions in French and the concept of null pronoun,'' Researchers Linguistique 12,
  
 
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{{dc}}
 
[[Category:Syntax]]
 
[[Category:Syntax]]
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{{cats}}

Revision as of 17:09, 21 February 2009

A resumptive pronoun is a pronoun that refers back to a previously realized item within the same syntactic structure.

Resumptive pronouns are often found in relative clauses, where they are realized twice -- once as relative pronoun and once as resumptive pronoun.

In generative syntax, resumptive pronouns are seen as an alternative strategy to movement (Haegeman 1994: 409), they are spell-out forms, where otherwise (i.e. if movement would have applied properly) only invisible traces would be left.


Resumptive pronoun is a pronoun which appears in the position of the variable bound by a wh-phrase.

Examples

The strategy to form relative clauses with resumptive pronouns is applied in non-standard French:

Voici l'homme que Marie lui a parlé
here_is the_man that Marie to_him has talked

'Here is the man that Marie has talked to' (cited after Haegeman 1994: 409)


in (i) him is a resumptive pronoun bound by who and interpreted as a bound variable.

(i) I wonder [whoi they think [that [if Mary marries himi ] then
    everybody will be happy]]

The appearance of resumptive pronouns is marginal in standard English, but quite acceptable in French and colloquial English. Theoretically, the construction is exceptional as well. Since the if-clause creates an Adjunct Island, extraction of who out of the object position of marries is ungrammatical, as shown in (ii):

(ii) * I wonder [whoi they think [that [if Mary marries ei ] then
       everybody will be happy]]

The resulting chain presumably violates subjacency. In (i), on the other hand, who has not been moved. But being an operator, it must bind a variable, in this case the resumptive pronoun him.


Links

Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

References

  • Chomsky, N. 1982. Some concepts and consequences of the theory of government and binding, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
  • Chomsky, N. 1981. Lectures on Government and Binding, Foris, Dordrecht.
  • Haegeman, Liliane. 1994. Introduction to Government and Binding Theory. 2nd Edn. Oxford: Blackwell.
  • Zribi-Hertz, A. 1984. Orphan prepositions in French and the concept of null pronoun, Researchers Linguistique 12,
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