On the absence of case chains in Bambara

Abstract

In Bambara, problems concerning transitivity appear in sentences containing perfective aspect, and in causatives. These problems will be shown to arise from the interaction of verb movement and the property specific to Bambara that Case cannot be transmitted along a verbal chain. It will be argued that this property follows from a particular setting of a parameter which either allows Case chains or disallows Case chains in a particular language. Quite generally, Case chains can never be formed in Bambara. In the nominal system, the lack of Case chains will account for the fact that syntactic NP movement occurs in more configurations than in a language like English, and for the absence of expletive pronouns that transmit Case at S-structure. I will also suggest that the absence of Case chains has consequences for the syntax of predicate nominals, and may explain the absence of nominal small clauses. Finally, the absence of Case chains suggests a possible account for the absence of syntactic Wh-movement in Bambara.