Concordância, caso e ergatividade em língua de sinais brasileira: uma proposta minimalista

Abstract

This dissertation aims to study the verbal agreement system in BrazilianSign Language. More specifically, I investigate the regular agreement verbs and the backward agreement verbs based on the recent findings under the Minimalist Program and the theory about agreement, Case and ergativity (Chomsky 1995, 2000, 2001; Miyagawa 2010; Legate 2008; Woolford 2006; among others). Thus, I propose that regular agreement verbs show a nominative array of agreement; in which the subject of the sentence bears nominative Case and the object is marked with accusative Case. This Case assignment configuration gives rise to a SUBJECT SUBJVERBOBJ OBJECT agreement array. On the other hand, backward agreement verbs show an ergative agreement pattern; in which the subject gets inherent ergative Case and the object bears nominative Case. This distribution results in a SUBJECT OBJVERBSUBJ OBJECT agreement array. I also discuss the mechanism that allows the object of a backward agreement verb to bear a nominative Case in situ and that allows the agreement between v and the ergative subject, to wit: the movement of v to T, thereby resulting in the complex head T+v.This complex head turns the object visible to the -probe in T and alsomakes possible an Agree relation between the -probe carried along with v and the ergative subject of the sentence. In this dissertation, I also deal with the auxiliary (AUX) in Brazilian Sign Language. I propose that AUX isactually a topic marker that indicates that both subject and object moved to a topic position (consequently, I will notate it as xIXy). In this sense, I propose that xIXy is situated in an intermediary projection between CP and TP: P (Miyagawa, 2010).