Title:
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Preposition stranding in Welsh
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This dissertation investigates preposition stranding observed in Colloquial Welsh using a
generative grammar approach.
Welsh traditionally disallows P-stranding. In Literary Welsh, prepositional relatives
require a resumptive pronoun which is licensed by the rich agreement of P, and wh-questions
require pied-piping of the entire PP. However, the use of uninflected stranded preposition can
be found colloquially, both in relatives and wh-questions.
This dissertation proposes an account of the different syntactic behaviour between the
two varieties, based on the notion of PF feature checking proposed by Ackema and Neeleman
(2004). I claim that if PF checking takes place between a P head and its DP complement, the
DP will be unable to move out of the complement position. This means that P-stranding is
impossible. On the other hand, if PF checking does not hold between P and its complement,
P-stranding is possible.
Chapter 1 provides theoretical assumptions and background of previous research on Pstranding.
Chapter 2 describes wh-constructions in Welsh and investigates the (un)availability of Pstranding in the literary and colloquial varieties.
Chapter 3 considers formal properties of Welsh resumptives. Following Willis (2011), I
assume that Welsh wh-dependencies with resumptive pronouns obey successive cyclicity.
Chapter 4 presents the PF feature checking approach to P-stranding. I assume that the
crucial difference between the two varieties is that P in Literary Welsh possesses AGRfeatures, but in Colloquial Welsh does not. I claim that the availability of PF checking
regulates the availability of P-stranding.
Chapter 5 investigates P-stranding generalizations, observed in Abels (2003), on pseudopassives, clitics, verbal particles and sluicing.
Chapter 6 discusses diachronic implications of the occurrence of P-stranding. I consider
how the P-stranding option came into Welsh grammar, using the notion of bilingual mode
developed by Grosjean (2001).
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