Parameterizing Case and Activity: Hyper-raising in Bantu

Case theory has long played a crucial role in explaining the distribution of nominal expressions. Raising constructions are a well-established case in point (Chomsky 1981, George & Kornfilt 1981, Chomsky 2000, Chomsky 2001, among others). A raising verb may have an expletive subject and take as complement a finite clause containing a thematic subject. Many Bantu languages exhibit apparent raising out of a finite clause in a construction known as HYPER-RAISING (cf. Harford Perez 1985; and Tanaka 2002, Martin & Nunes 2005, Nunes 2008, Ura 1998, Zeller 2006 for similar problems in various languages). This paper explores HYPER-RAISING in Lubukusu and Lusaamia, two members of the Luyia subgroup of Bantu spoken in Kenya.This research was supported in part by an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement grant and by a University of Missouri Research Council grant