The cartography of yes and no in West Flemish

Abstract

We make an in-depth study of the response particles ja/nee (‘yes/no’) in the Lapscheure dialect of Dutch. These particles show overt phi-feature marking corresponding to what would be the subject of a response clause. Additionally, in ‘reversal answers’, the particles bear additional morphology. We develop a cartographic analysis, arguing that ja/nee represent TP proforms (Krifka 2013). We analyze the pronominal marking as a reflex of phi-features which are merged in Fin to satisfy the Subject Criterion (Rizzi & Shlonsky 2007). We argue that this analysis accounts for a number of facts concerning the distribution of ja/nee , including their incompatibility with (most) clausemate material, and the co-occurrence restrictions between ja/nee , the discourse particle ba , and ‘reversal doet ’ (Van Craenenbroeck 2010).

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