| In this dissertation, I demonstrate that a clear understanding of the properties and behaviors of personal pronouns and null operators resolves some of the puzzles surrounding UG phenomena such as question formation, superiority effects, weak crossover effects, resumption, and the dependency relations between personal pronouns and their antecedents in the syntax of Yoruba, a Benue-Congo language spoken in Nigeria.; Furthermore, I show in this dissertation that the absence of superiority effects and (movement-triggered) weak crossover effects from Yoruba follows from the fact that the language does not have simple wh-movements. It uses null operator movement in its wh-questions and focus constructions. This also follows from the fact that the language has no words with wh-features. I show that the language indeed displays weak crossover effects in configurations that do not involve overt movement. I extend the analysis to Igbo which also does not have superiority effects, It does not display movement-triggered weak crossover effects either. Thus, I claim that weak crossover is universal but wh-questions derivational processes are not.; Also, I claim that null operators lack the D-feature that is required to check the EPP feature of the Tense. This explains what has been observed in the literature---(Danish, as in Mikkesen 2000, Japanese, as in Takahasi 2001, Icelandic, as in Holmberg and Hroarsdottir 2001)---that null operators cannot satisfy EPP requirements. I extend the analysis to Edo in which, like Yoruba and other languages that use null operator movement to derive wh-questions, the lack of D-feature in null operators forces an external merge of the expletive for EPP purposes.; Finally, I show that the so-called logophoric effects can be derived from the fact that certain pronouns are inherently A-bar dependent on a null operator in African languages. |
