Wh-agreement refers to morphological changes triggered by wh-movement, usually in verbs or complementisers.[1] It occurs in a number of Bantu languages,[2][3] Austronesian languages including Chamorro and Palauan, Algonquin languages such as Ojibwe,[4] as well as Hausa, French, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish.[5]
For example, in Chamorro, the infix ⟨um⟩ (labelled ⟨WH[nom]⟩) is attached to the verb to mark agreement with the nominative question phrase following subject extraction:[6]
Ha
3sSA
fa'gåsi
wash
si
PND
Juan
Juan
i
the
kareta.
car
'Juan washed the car.'
Håyi
who?
f⟨um⟩a'gåsi
⟨WH[NOM]⟩wash
i
the
kareta?
car
'Who washed the car?'
Additionally, some languages have distinct agreement morphology depending on the case of element being moved.[1] In the case of object extraction in Chamorro, the verb fa'gasi instead becomes fina’gasése (marked with ⟨WH[obj]⟩):
Håfa
what
i
the
f⟨in⟩a’gasésen-ña
⟨WH[OBJ]⟩wash.PROG-AGR
si Juan
Juan
para
for
hågu?
you
‘What is Juan washing for you?’
In French and Scottish Gaelic, special complementisers are used in cases of wh-movement:[5]
Tu
you
as
have
dit
said
que
that
le
the
livre
book
était
had
tombé
fallen
‘You said that the book had fallen.’
Qu'est-ce
what-is-this
que
that
tu
you
as
have
dit
said
qui
that.AGR
était
was
tombé
fallen
‘Who did you say had fallen?’