Aida Talić: The Clitic SynPhony: Syntactic phases and prosodic domains (Week 1)

Various grammatical rules and processes across different modules of grammar are sensitive to domains of various sizes. For instance, it is widely recognized that there are domains in the syntactic module of grammar that delimit syntactic dependencies between elements in the structure like agreement or anaphor binding. On the phonology side, domains of various sizes (e.g., prosodic word, phonological phrase, intonational phrase) have been proposed that delimit phonological interactions between elements like accent, tone, various assimilations, or vowel harmony. Given the usual assumptions about the model of grammar that phonological computations follow syntactic ones, we wonder if the same domains that delimit syntactic processes are (at least partially) responsible for phonological processes as well. To explore this broader question, in this course we will take a close look at how enclitics and proclitics in Central Bosnian map from their syntactic structure to the prosodic structure. We will start by discussing some prominent theories on how domains are built in the syntax and in phonology, and some proposals about the mapping process at the syntax-prosody interface. With this in mind, we will then tackle specific studies involving prosodic interactions between clitics and their hosts, taking into consideration the effects of domain sizes, sizes of clitic hosts, as well as the ordering and the timing of rules in the morpho-phonological component of grammar.