{"id":{"repo_id":"toronto-retro","oai_identifier":"oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/140070"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/toronto-retro/oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/140070","repository":{"repo_id":"toronto-retro","name":"University of Toronto","base_url":"https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Case and Phi-agreement in Laki: Parametrizing split-ergativity in Kurdish","abstract":"This thesis examines split ergative alignments in five dialects of Kurdish (Northwestern Iranian), with the primary focus on the argument structure and case and agreement patterns in Laki (Southern Kurdish). I show that these Kurdish dialects uniformly follow an aspect-based split where the ergative pattern is obtained only in the anterior aspect structurally encoded on a low Asp head. Along the lines of some previous literature (Bobaljik 1992, 1993; Otsuka 2000; Bhatt 2005; Preminger 2012; Rezac et al. 2014), I take ergative case in Kurdish as a structural case (as opposed to an inherent case), disassociated from theta-role assignment. Extending Preminger’s (2012) proposal, I take the locus of ergative to be the head of a non-thematic ErgP. The main evidence for this proposal is based on the agreement pattern with complex predicates formed by a transitive light verb (a light verb whose heavy verb counterpart is transitive), where we see the ergative pattern with transitives, unaccusatives and unergatives. I further propose that the Erg head selects for a phrase bearing [+ANTERIOR] and [+TRANSITIVE] features. Despite cross-dialectal similarities, however, Kurdish dialects show a high degree of variation arising from various dialect-specific parameters. One source of variation is the behavior of absolutive objects. In dialects with a phasal ErgP, the absolutive agreement with the object always fails, unless, the object undergoes raising to the phase edge. In Laki (Southern Kurdish), a weak/deficient object pronoun raises to the phase edge due to a Clitic Cluster Restriction. In Mukriyani, (Central Kurdish), weak/deficient objects consistently raise to the phase edge for licensing. In Ardalani (Central Kurdish), objects consistently remain in-situ, and the phasehood of the ErgP renders them inaccessible for absolutive agreement. In Northern Kurdish dialects, by contrast, where ErgP is φ-defective and not phasal, supported by the unavailability of a φ-probe on the Erg head, the object is predicted to be accessible for agreement with T. In the Standard dialect, the agreement between T and the object is consistently obtained. In Muş dialect, the object receives accusative case rendering it inactive for agreement with T, leading to a double oblique pattern. These parameters and their interactions with each other result in diverse patterns within a single dialect and across dialects which are otherwise similar. Building upon the insight of previous research (Johns 2000, Deal 2016a, Haig 2017, Carrier 2020), I conclude that ergativity is not a single phenomenon. Rather, it is a constellation of a range of linguistic properties.","abstract_html":"This thesis examines split ergative alignments in five dialects of Kurdish (Northwestern Iranian), with the primary focus on the argument structure and case and agreement patterns in Laki (Southern Kurdish). I show that these Kurdish dialects uniformly follow an aspect-based split where the ergative pattern is obtained only in the anterior aspect structurally encoded on a low Asp head. Along the lines of some previous literature (Bobaljik 1992, 1993; Otsuka 2000; Bhatt 2005; Preminger 2012; Rezac et al. 2014), I take ergative case in Kurdish as a structural case (as opposed to an inherent case), disassociated from theta-role assignment. Extending Preminger’s (2012) proposal, I take the locus of ergative to be the head of a non-thematic ErgP. The main evidence for this proposal is based on the agreement pattern with complex predicates formed by a transitive light verb (a light verb whose heavy verb counterpart is transitive), where we see the ergative pattern with transitives, unaccusatives and unergatives. I further propose that the Erg head selects for a phrase bearing [+ANTERIOR] and [+TRANSITIVE] features. Despite cross-dialectal similarities, however, Kurdish dialects show a high degree of variation arising from various dialect-specific parameters. One source of variation is the behavior of absolutive objects. In dialects with a phasal ErgP, the absolutive agreement with the object always fails, unless, the object undergoes raising to the phase edge. In Laki (Southern Kurdish), a weak/deficient object pronoun raises to the phase edge due to a Clitic Cluster Restriction. In Mukriyani, (Central Kurdish), weak/deficient objects consistently raise to the phase edge for licensing. In Ardalani (Central Kurdish), objects consistently remain in-situ, and the phasehood of the ErgP renders them inaccessible for absolutive agreement. In Northern Kurdish dialects, by contrast, where ErgP is φ-defective and not phasal, supported by the unavailability of a φ-probe on the Erg head, the object is predicted to be accessible for agreement with T. In the Standard dialect, the agreement between T and the object is consistently obtained. In Muş dialect, the object receives accusative case rendering it inactive for agreement with T, leading to a double oblique pattern. These parameters and their interactions with each other result in diverse patterns within a single dialect and across dialects which are otherwise similar. Building upon the insight of previous research (Johns 2000, Deal 2016a, Haig 2017, Carrier 2020), I conclude that ergativity is not a single phenomenon. Rather, it is a constellation of a range of linguistic properties.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Taghipour, Sahar"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Linguistics","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Kahnemuyipour, Arsalan"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-06","date_published":"2024-06","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:27:54Z","subjects":["Agreement","Case","Ergativity","Iranian languages"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1807/140070","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Kahnemuyipour, Arsalan"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Linguistics"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Taghipour, Sahar"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2024-06"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-11-08T16:43:47Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-11-08T16:43:47Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-06"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Agreement","Case","Ergativity","Iranian languages"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1807/140070"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines split ergative alignments in five dialects of Kurdish (Northwestern Iranian), with the primary focus on the argument structure and case and agreement patterns in Laki (Southern Kurdish). I show that these Kurdish dialects uniformly follow an aspect-based split where the ergative pattern is obtained only in the anterior aspect structurally encoded on a low Asp head. Along the lines of some previous literature (Bobaljik 1992, 1993; Otsuka 2000; Bhatt 2005; Preminger 2012; Rezac et al. 2014), I take ergative case in Kurdish as a structural case (as opposed to an inherent case), disassociated from theta-role assignment. Extending Preminger’s (2012) proposal, I take the locus of ergative to be the head of a non-thematic ErgP. The main evidence for this proposal is based on the agreement pattern with complex predicates formed by a transitive light verb (a light verb whose heavy verb counterpart is transitive), where we see the ergative pattern with transitives, unaccusatives and unergatives. I further propose that the Erg head selects for a phrase bearing [+ANTERIOR] and [+TRANSITIVE] features. Despite cross-dialectal similarities, however, Kurdish dialects show a high degree of variation arising from various dialect-specific parameters. One source of variation is the behavior of absolutive objects. In dialects with a phasal ErgP, the absolutive agreement with the object always fails, unless, the object undergoes raising to the phase edge. In Laki (Southern Kurdish), a weak/deficient object pronoun raises to the phase edge due to a Clitic Cluster Restriction. In Mukriyani, (Central Kurdish), weak/deficient objects consistently raise to the phase edge for licensing. In Ardalani (Central Kurdish), objects consistently remain in-situ, and the phasehood of the ErgP renders them inaccessible for absolutive agreement. In Northern Kurdish dialects, by contrast, where ErgP is φ-defective and not phasal, supported by the unavailability of a φ-probe on the Erg head, the object is predicted to be accessible for agreement with T. In the Standard dialect, the agreement between T and the object is consistently obtained. In Muş dialect, the object receives accusative case rendering it inactive for agreement with T, leading to a double oblique pattern. These parameters and their interactions with each other result in diverse patterns within a single dialect and across dialects which are otherwise similar. Building upon the insight of previous research (Johns 2000, Deal 2016a, Haig 2017, Carrier 2020), I conclude that ergativity is not a single phenomenon. Rather, it is a constellation of a range of linguistic properties."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Case and Phi-agreement in Laki: Parametrizing split-ergativity in Kurdish"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Kahnemuyipour, Arsalan"],"dc:contributor.department":["Linguistics"],"dc:creator":["Taghipour, Sahar"],"dc:date":["2024-06"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-11-08T16:43:47Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-11-08T16:43:47Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-06"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines split ergative alignments in five dialects of Kurdish (Northwestern Iranian), with the primary focus on the argument structure and case and agreement patterns in Laki (Southern Kurdish). I show that these Kurdish dialects uniformly follow an aspect-based split where the ergative pattern is obtained only in the anterior aspect structurally encoded on a low Asp head. Along the lines of some previous literature (Bobaljik 1992, 1993; Otsuka 2000; Bhatt 2005; Preminger 2012; Rezac et al. 2014), I take ergative case in Kurdish as a structural case (as opposed to an inherent case), disassociated from theta-role assignment. Extending Preminger’s (2012) proposal, I take the locus of ergative to be the head of a non-thematic ErgP. The main evidence for this proposal is based on the agreement pattern with complex predicates formed by a transitive light verb (a light verb whose heavy verb counterpart is transitive), where we see the ergative pattern with transitives, unaccusatives and unergatives. I further propose that the Erg head selects for a phrase bearing [+ANTERIOR] and [+TRANSITIVE] features. Despite cross-dialectal similarities, however, Kurdish dialects show a high degree of variation arising from various dialect-specific parameters. One source of variation is the behavior of absolutive objects. In dialects with a phasal ErgP, the absolutive agreement with the object always fails, unless, the object undergoes raising to the phase edge. In Laki (Southern Kurdish), a weak/deficient object pronoun raises to the phase edge due to a Clitic Cluster Restriction. In Mukriyani, (Central Kurdish), weak/deficient objects consistently raise to the phase edge for licensing. In Ardalani (Central Kurdish), objects consistently remain in-situ, and the phasehood of the ErgP renders them inaccessible for absolutive agreement. In Northern Kurdish dialects, by contrast, where ErgP is φ-defective and not phasal, supported by the unavailability of a φ-probe on the Erg head, the object is predicted to be accessible for agreement with T. In the Standard dialect, the agreement between T and the object is consistently obtained. In Muş dialect, the object receives accusative case rendering it inactive for agreement with T, leading to a double oblique pattern. These parameters and their interactions with each other result in diverse patterns within a single dialect and across dialects which are otherwise similar. Building upon the insight of previous research (Johns 2000, Deal 2016a, Haig 2017, Carrier 2020), I conclude that ergativity is not a single phenomenon. Rather, it is a constellation of a range of linguistic properties."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph.D."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1807/140070"],"dc:subject":["Agreement","Case","Ergativity","Iranian languages"],"dc:title":["Case and Phi-agreement in Laki: Parametrizing split-ergativity in Kurdish"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:27:54Z"}