Abstract

This paper considers the well-known puzzling phenomenon of subject–verb agreement asymmetry in Arabic: full agreement surfaces in SV word order, whereas VS order manifests partial agreement. That is, agreement in all phi-features surfaces only when the subject moves to a preverbal position. To avoid (apparently inevitable) circularity of earlier analyses, the paper offers a minimalist, phase-based analysis to the phenomenon. Two ingredients to the analysis are proposed: phase sliding, according to which a phase extends if its phase head moves. More precisely, T becomes a (sort of) phase head when after v-T movement. The other element is a morphological rule, Morphological Agreement Realization (MAR), to the effect that morphological agreement surfaces iff the probe and goal are spelled out in the same phase. Thus, it turns out that in VS word order, the subject and the verb are spelled out in different phases. In SV constructions, on the other hand, both the subject and the verb are spelled out in the same phase. Hence, the agreement asymmetry. The analysis is supported by certain phonological phenomena.

摘要

本文考虑了阿拉伯语中众所周知的主语-动词一致不对称的令人困惑的现象：完全一致的表面以SV词序显示，而VS顺序则表示部分一致。也就是说，仅当对象移动到前言位置时，所有phi功能面中的内容才一致。为了避免（显然是不可避免的）较早分析的循环性，本文对现象进行了基于阶段的极简分析。提出了两个要分析的成分：相滑动，如果相头移动，则相滑动根据相延伸。更精确地讲，在vT运动之后，T变成一个（某种）相位头。另一个要素是形态学规则，即“形态学协议实现”（MAR），其作用是当在同一阶段阐明探针和目标时的形态学协议表面。因此，事实证明，按照VS词序，主语和动词的拼写是不同的。另一方面，在SV构造中，主语和动词在同一阶段被拼写出来。因此，协议不对称。该分析得到某些语音现象的支持。