Topicality and object–past participle agreement in Friulian

Abstract

AbstractChapter 12 argues that object–-past participle agreement in Friulian is sensitive to the discourse-pragmatic status of the direct object as given topic or aboutness-shift topic. It occurs in transitive clauses with the in-situ direct object independently of the presence of a resumptive object clitic within the verbal domain. The chapter claims that, in Friulian, v° is endowed with an extra set of phi-features, which probes for the closest c-commanded DP that carries a topic feature. As a result, past participle agreement only takes place with topical in-situ direct objects. If such a goal is not available, the default masculine singular ending surfaces on the past participle, as the Agree operation fails. The correct discourse-pragmatic interpretation of the topical in-situ object is then achieved through Long-Distance Agree between the relevant left-peripheral functional head and the internal object DP.