The position of clitics and presuppositional negative markers in restructuring contexts

Abstract

This paper aims to explore syntactic microvariation in Catalan dialects as a source of insight into the nature of restructuring contexts and long-distance dependencies. We claim that restructuring involves a bi-clausal structure with a defective embedded domain. We provide evidence for this analysis by exploring the positions of clitics and presuppositional negative markers in restructuring contexts in Catalan varieties. On the one hand, the data collected highlights that, although clitic climbing and embedded presuppositional negation are independent phenomena, they can both be explained by the transparency of the embedded clausal boundary. On the other hand, dialectal data evince the existence of an ongoing syntactic change in the restructuring nature of some verbs. Furthermore, data collected confirms the validity of long-distance licensing as a transparency effect. This hypothesis is corroborated by the exploration of the same phenomena in subjunctive contexts.