[Ung ‘yes’/Ani ‘no’, XP] Involves Right Dislocation

Abstract

This paper is to argue that the apparently fragmentary answer phrase XP right after the polarity answer particle (PAP) such as ung ‘yes’ or ani ‘no’ is not a run-of-the-mill fragment but a right-dislocated (RD-ed) element. Using negative polarity items and indefinites as a RD-ed element, we show that the PAP itself is also a remnant derived from elision of the answering full clause, which in turn provides a right structural context for right dislocation of another XP remnant. We go on further to show that RD-ed elements in the construction at issue display the same pattern of syntactic behaviors as those in the cannonical RD construction, particularly in terms of island effects, the ‘full’ host clause requirement, Case/voice match, and specificational coordination.