On the subject-predicate relation and subject agreement in SiSwati

Abstract

The paper proposes a comprehensive syntactic analysis of the subject-predicate relationship in SiSwati. It is proposed that there are two notions of a subject, namely, the subject of a clause and the subject of a predicate. Both positions are purely syntactic and must be filled before Spell-Out. The paper also argues that subject agreement is a purely syntactic phenomenon that takes place in a spec-head relationship. It proposes that subject agreement is triggered by verbs, and that multiple subject agreement within a clause occurs when auxiliary verbs iterate. The theoretical consequences of the analysis proposed in this study are evaluated against the pronoun incorporation analysis of Bresnan and Mchombo (1987) and the licensing of specifiers and heads
proposed by Koopman (2000).

Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2006, 24(3): 331–359