Jochen Zeller

Particles in Gennan have the capacity to introduce new arguments when they combine with a verb. Based on this observation, I argue that the intemal arguments of a particle verb are always introduced by the particle. I suggest that this follows from the fact that syntactically, the particle is the head of a maximal projection that occupies the single complement position of the verb; therefore, none of the base verb 's arguments can be linked to a syntactic object position if a particle is present. In providing empirical evidence for my claim, I discuss in some detail the derivation of a variety of particle verbs, representing their semantics as Lexical Conceptual Structures, according to the framework developed in Jackendoff ( 1983, 1990). mehr

This paper proposes a typology that classifies Bantu languages according to the function of so-called object markers in their grammar. Three types of language are distinguished: in Type 1, object markers are agreement markers; in Type 2, object markers are pronominal clitics; in Type 3, object marking is a reflex of A-bar movement of the corresponding object. The paper further demonstrates that the three types of language also behave in systematic ways with respect to the possibility of object marking in object relative clauses: in Type 1 languages, object markers are never required, in Type 2, object markers are never possible, and in Type 3, object marking is always compulsory in object relatives. Finally, the paper presents a syntactic analysis of object marking in Type 3 languages, which explains the obligatory occurrence of object markers in right dislocation and relative clause constructions in these languages. mehr