Resumptive pronouns in Mauritian: examining the nature of specificity effects

Publication en ligne http://www.essex.ac.uk/linguistics/department/events/langue/2007/proceedings/papers.aspxInternational audienceThis study looks at Discourse-linking effects in Mauritian Creole relative clauses where the use of a resumptive pronoun triggers a reading whereby one or more individuals is selected from a contextually-defined subset of individuals. Mauritian Creole resumptives confirm Erteschik-Shir's (1992) hypothesis concerning the 'restrictive focus' reading. Resumption is also incompatible with Sells' (1984)'concept' reading. Furthermore, I look at the interaction between determiners and resumptive pronouns: it is observed that bare nouns and indefinite noun phrases cannot be the antecedent of a resumptive. As a consequence, it is not possible to observe the purportedly obligatory wide-scope reading of resumptives in Mauritian