Patterns of number (dis)agreement in Pyrenean varieties

This paper examines number agreement patterns in unaccusative constructions within Pyrenean varieties, focusing on Spanish spoken in the Aragon area and North-Western Catalan. Adopting Chomsky’s (2000, 2001) Probe-Goal system and Obata et al.’s (2015) approach to parametric variation, we address the syntactic behavior of postverbal indefinite noun phrases (NPs) in these varieties. The data reveal systematic agreement asymmetries tied to unaccusativity and the presence of locative / expletive elements, which, we defend, has an effect on the dynamics of the operation Agree. Our analysis submits that dialectal variation emerges from differences in the ordering of syntactic operations (in the spirit of Chomsky’s 1993 analysis of verb raising), thus offering a unified account of these patterns across related languages.