We Don’t Agree (Only) Upward

Linguistic Inquiry, pp. 1–21

Abstract

For Bjorkman and Zeijlstra (2019), Agree consists of two operations: checking and valuation. Checking involves (a) probing, always upward from an uninterpretable feature [uF] to an interpretable feature [iF] c-commanding it, and (b) [iF]’s checking [uF]. Valuation generally happens downward, with the valuer c-commanding the valuee. Upward valuation, in which the probe c-commands the goal, is exceptional and only occurs if downward valuation has failed. In this reply, we argue that this approach is not supported empirically. We present data from Matengo, German, Serbo-Croatian, Sambaa, Liko, and Nez Perce, arguing that upward valuation must be available more generally than Bjorkman and Zeijlstra suggest.

Authors 2

1. András Bárány corresponding

   Bielefeld University

   Affiliation as printed

   Bielefeld University, Faculty of Linguistics and Literary Studies, andras.barany@uni-bielefeld.de

2. Jenneke van der Wal corresponding Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, g.j.van.der.wal@hum.leidenuniv.nl