Ling

120: Homework 8

Due: 1pm, Friday, April 3, via bCourses

The following examples are of Malagasy. You should already be familiar with the basic X-bar structure of
Malagasy; the examples below provide data which deals with two kinds of passivization in Malagasy,
which is different from English in a number of ways.
In two pages, provide a basic description of the Malagasy passive and its effect on the theta-grid of the
verb compared to the effect of the English passive. Then provide an analysis of the passive examples in
(8a) and (9a) which accounts for the ungrammaticality of examples (8b) and (9b-c) as well.
While we have seen in past assignments that DP and TP have the same setting w.r.t. headedness, this
does not necessarily mean that this will be true for every other projection. However, you should continue
to assume that TP takes a VP complement, and that the syntactic subject (Agent) is in the specifier of
TP. Assume that the tense morphology originates on T, and all other morphology originates on T or V, for
simplicity (i.e. no other Vaux projections are necessary).
The orthographic notes can be ignored, and simply tell you how to pronounce these sentences!
(1)

n-aN-vono (> namono) ilay

PAST-ACTIVE-kill
that
Rabe killed that chicken

akoho
chicken

Rabe
Rabe

(2) a. no-vono-ina Rabe (> novonoin-dRabe)

PAST-kill-PASS1 Rabe.GEN


That chicken was killed by Rabe

ilay
that

Rabe

b. * novonoina

ilay

akoho

(3)

no-vono-ina
ilay
PAST-kill-PASS1
that
That chicken was killed

akoho
chicken

(4)

h-aN-soratra (> hanoratra)

FUT-ACTIVE-write

You will write the letter

ny
the

taratasy
letter

(5) a. ho-soratra-ana
anao (> hosoratanao) ny
FUT-write-PASS1
2SG.GEN

the
The letter will be written by you

b. * hosoratana

ny

taratasy

akoho
chicken

ianao
2SG.NOM
taratasy
letter

ianao

(6)

ho-soratra-ana (> hosoratana) ny

FUT-write-PASS1

the
The letter will be written

taratasy
letter

(7)


(8) a.

n-aN-sasa(> nanasa) lamba

tamin ny savony
ny
PAST-ACT-wash
clothes
with the soap
the
The child washed clothes with the soap
no-sasa-ana ny
zaza (> nosasanny zaza) tamin ny savony
PAST-wash-PASS1 the
child

with the soap
The clothes were washed with the soap by the child.

zaza
child
ny
the

lamba
clothes

 b.* no-sasa-ana

tamin ny savony

ny

zaza

ny

lamba

(9) a. An-sasa-na
(> nosasana) ny
zaza ny
lamba

PAST-wash-PASS2

the
child the
clothes

The soap was used to washed the clothes by the child.

ny
the

savony
soap

b.* An-sasa-na

(> nosasana)

ny

lamba ny

zaza

ny

savony

c. * An-sasa-na

(> nosasana)

ny

zaza

savony

ny

lamba

ny

(10)

n-aN-droso
(> nandroso) vary
PAST-ACT-serve

rice
Rakoto served rice to the guests.

hoan ny vahiny
for the guests

(11)

Nan-droso-ana dRokoto (>Nandrosoan-dRakoto) vary

PAST-serve-PASS2 Rakoto.GEN


rice
The guests were served rice by Rakoto.

Rakoto.
Rakoto
ny vahiny
DET guests