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The University of Hull Mutation and the Syntactic Structure Of THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL MUTATION AND THE SYNTACTIC STRUCTURE OF i MODERN COLLOQUIAL WELSH being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull by MARGARET OLWEN TALLERMAN B.A. (HONS.) June 1987 -b bLf3 1987 SUMMAR/ Summary of Thesis submitted for PhD degree by Margaret Olwen Tallerman on Mutation and the Syntactic Structure of Modern Colloquial Welsh In this dissertation I discuss the phenomenon of initial consonantal mutation in modern Welsh, and explore the syntactic structure of this language: I will concentrate on the syntax of Colloquial rather than Literary Welsh. It transpires that mutation phenomena can frequently be cited as evidence for or against certain syntactic analyses. In chapter 1 I present a critical survey of previous treatments of mutation, and show that mutation in Welsh conforms to a modified version of the Trigger Constraint proposed by Lieber and by Zwicky. It is argued that adjacency of the mutation trigger is the criterial property in Welsh. Chapter 2 presents a comprehensive description of the productive environments for mutation in modern Welsh. In chapter 3 I give a snort account of Government and Binding theory, the framework used for several recent analyses of Celtic languages. I also discuss proposals that have been made concerning the underlying word order of Welsh, a surface VSO language. Although I reject SVO underlying order, I conclude that there is nonetheless a VP constituent in Welsh. Chapters 4 and 5 concern the role of NPs as triggers for Soft Mutation: both overt and 1 empty category NPs are considered. In chapter 5, which centres on wh-traces, it is shown that the variable appears in a wider variety of construction types in Welsh than had previously been suggested. A pre-head relativization site for extractions from VP and NP is posited. Chapter 6 develops the theme of the role of wh-traces in unbounded dependencies, and it is argued that all relative clauses in Welsh are formed by wh-movement. The final chapter, chapter 7, looks at the wider variety of relative clause types found in Colloquial Welsh, and presents an analysis of the patterns of mutation and pronoun retention in the light of the NP Accessibility Hierarchy. 2 CENEDL HEB IAITH, CENEDL HEB GALON. ABSTRACT In this dissertation I discuss the phenomenon of initial consonantal mutation in modern Welsh, and explore the syntactic structure of this language: I will concentrate on the syntax of Colloquial rather than Literary Welsh. It transpires that mutation phenomena can frequently be cited as evidence for or against certain syntactic analyses. In chapter 1 I present a critical survey of previous treatments of mutation, and show that mutation in Welsh conforms to a modified version of the Trigger Constraint proposed by Lieber and by Zwicky. It is argued that adjacency of the mutation trigger is the criterial property in Welsh. Chapter 2 presents a comprehensive description of the productive environments for mutation in modern Welsh. In chapter 3 I give a short account of Government and Binding theory, the framework used for several recent analyses of Celtic languages. I also discuss proposals that have been made concerning the underlying word order of Welsh, a surface VSO language. Although I reject SVO underlying order, I conclude that there is nonetheless a VP constituent in Welsh. Chapters 4 and 5 concern the role of NPs as triggers for Soft Mutation: both overt and empty category NPs are considered. In chapter 5, which centres on wh-traces, it is shown that the variable appears in a wider variety of construction types in Welsh than had previously been suggested. A pre-head relativization site for extractions from VP and NP is posited. Chapter 6 develops the theme of the role of wh-traces in unbounded dependencies, and it is argued that all relative clauses in iii Welsh are formed by wh-movement. The final chapter, chapter 7, looks at the wider variety of relative clause types found in Colloquial Welsh, and presents an analysis of the patterns of mutation and pronoun retention in the light of the NP Accessibility Hierarchy. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people who have helped me during the preparation of this thesis. Firstly I acknowledge the support of the Department of Education and Science, from whom I received a Major State Studentship at the i start of this research. I would also like to thank Professor Erik Fudge of the University of Hull, who gave me space to work in during that time. Thanks to Roger Gawley of the Computer Centre, University of Durham, for his patient and sympathetic help with all my unreasonable requests! Thanks to my supervisor, Nigel Vincent, of the University of Cambridge, both for putting up with me for so long, and for offering constructive criticism and inspiration. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to the Welsh speakers who have acted as my informants over the past few years. Diolch yn fawr, then, to all the following, who bore my apparently pointless questions with fortitude: Gail Davies; Lewis Davies; Annabell Evans; Bethan Jones; Neville Jones; Marged Ifans, and her friends, then of Neuadd John Morris-Jones, Bangor; Hywel Lloyd; Arwel Roberts; and the pupils of Ysgol Tryfan, Bangor. Finally, I would like to thank those amongst my family, friends and colleagues who never for one moment doubted that I would finish this thesis. V CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 A CRITICAL SURVEY OF PREVIOUS TREATMENTS OF MUTATION TN WELSH 10 1.1 Traditional solutions 10 1.2 Oftedal (1962) 19 1.3 The abstract phonological solution 22 1.4 The transformational approach 29 1.4.1 Awbery (1975;1976) 29 1.4.2 Willis (1986) 34 1.5 Contemporary pedagogical solutions 39 1.6 The Trigger Constraint 44 1.6.1 The autosegmental approach 44 1.6.2 Zwicky (1984) 50 1.6.3 Stump (ms.) 58 1.6.4 Conclusion 65 vi FOOTNOTES 2 THE ENVIRONMENTS FOR MUTATION 67 2.1 Mutation Processes 67 2.1.1 The phonological processes of mutation . 67 2.1.2 Mutation triggers and targets 70 2.2 Nasal Mutation 78 2.3 Aspirate Mutation 1 81 2.4 Soft Mutation 91 2.4.1 Lexical items triggering SM. 91 2.4.2 Morphosyntactic features as SM triggers . 106 2.4.3 Incorporated mutation 122 2.4.4 Phrasal categories as SM triggers 125 FOOTNOTES 3 THEORETICAL OUTLINE AND GRAMMATICAL OVERVIEW 137 3.1 Government Binding Theory 137 3.1.1 Organization of the Grammar 137 3.1.2 The Projection Principle and empty categories 139 3.1.3 Theta theory and trace 141 3.1.4 Government theory 143 3.1.5 Binding theory 146 3.1.6 Case theory 150 vii 3.1.7 Bounding theory 152 3.2 Word Order 153 3.2.1 Surface and underlying word order 153 3.2.2 SVO as universal base order: (1) Emonds (1980) 155 3.2.3 SVO as universal base order: (2) Williams (1984) 158 3.2.4 SVO as the base order for Welsh. 162 3.2.5 Sproat (1985): Problems for the GB analysis 166 3.2.6 Summary 173 3.3 The Existence of a VP Constituent 174 3.3.1 Constituent status 174 3.3.2 Categorial status 177 3.3.3 The origins of VP 182 3.4 Aspect Markers 184 FOOTNOTES 4 NOMINAL CATEGORIES AND SOFT MUTATION 196 4.1 Overt Nominals 196 4.1.1 The typology of nominal categories 196 4.1.2 Referential NPs 197 4.1.3 Pleonastic NPs 202 4.1.4 Overt pronouns 203 4.1.5 Overt anaphors 207 4.2 Caseless Empty Categories 208 4.2.1 The VSO complement analysis 209 4.2.2 The SVO complement analysis 214 4.3 Traces of Non-nominal Elements 221 4.4 The Empty Category pro 229 4.4.1 Pro as null subject 229 4.4.2 Pro in preposition phrases 236 4.4.3 Pro-drop and agreement • 242 4.4.4 Pronoun retention in Colloquial Welsh . 247 4.5 The status of inflectional morphology 254 4.5.1 The Incorporation analysis 254 4.5.2 A version of the Agreement Analysis: Stump (1984) 258 4.5.3 Stump (1984) and Welsh 262 4.5.4 Conclusions 267 FOOTNOTES 5 THE EMPTY CATEGORY WH-TRACE 275 5.1 Variables as SM triggers 275 5.2 Extending the role of wh-trace 278 5.2.1 A-positions. I: Extractions from NP and VP 278 5.2.2 A-positions. II: the situation in Colloquial Welsh 285 5.2.3 A-position in CW unbounded dependencies: ix extractions from VP 292 5.3 A-position in "cael" and "wedi" constructions . 300 5.4 Conclusion 306 FOOTNOTES 6 THE ANALYSIS OF WELSH UNBOUNDED DEPENDENCIES 309 6.1 Relative clauses in Literary Welsh 310 6.2 Harlow (1981) 317 6.2.1 Outline of the analysis 317 6.2.2 Discussion of Harlow (1981) 327 6.2.3 An alternative proposal 338 6.3 Sadler (1984) 347 6.4 Conclusion 354 FOOTNOTES 7 ACCESSIBILITY AND RELATIVIZATION STRATEGIES IN WELSH . 357 7.1 The Keenan/Comrie Accessibility Hierarchy . 357 7.2 Discussion of the Accessibility Hierarchy . 366 7.3 The Accessibility Hierarchy in Welsh 380 7.3.1 Relativization strategies in LW 380 7.3.2 Relativization strategies in CW 388 7.3.3 Summary of CW relativization strategies . 398 x 7.4 Complementizers in Colloquial Welsh 405 7.5 Conclusion 406 FOOTNOTES 8 CONCLUSION 410 BIBLIOGRAPHY xi INTRODUCTION Broadly speaking, modern Welsh can be divided into two varieties: Literary Welsh (LW), Cvmraeq llenvddol, and Colloquial Welsh (MO, Cvmraeq llafar.
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