Ve as a Second-Position Clitic

Authors

Ileana Paul, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2001

Volume

40

Issue

1

Journal

Oceanic Linguistics

First Page

135

Last Page

142

Abstract

Contrary to previous claims in the literature, it is argued that ve, the yes-no particle in Malagasy, is a second-position clitic. Although ve typically appears at the right edge of the predicate phrase, in sentences with nonstandard word order, it surfaces in second position. Ve is contrasted with other particles that are not second-position clitics but pattern with adverbs. The implications of the placement of ve for analyses of Malagasy clause structure are discussed.

Notes

Dr. Ileana Paul is currently a faculty member at The University of Western Ontario.