2.2.1.3. Strategies of pronoun copying for subject and object
Subject pronoun copy [Syntax 2.2.1.3] is another syntactic phenomenon that distinguishes between subjects and objects. In DGS, polar questions may end in a pronominal copy of the subject if the predicate of the sentence does not (typically) mark agreement. The first occurrence of the subject may either be pronominal (a) or a full noun phrase (b).
y/n
a. ix2 pizza order ix2
‘Did you order pizza?’
y/n
b. m-a-x already pizza order ix3
‘Did Max order pizza?’
The pronominal copy is unstressed and is not separated from the rest of the clause via a pause. It is only subjects that can be copied in this fashion, objects and non-arguments are excluded.
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