Strict Logophors in Ewe, Yoruba, and Igbo

Abstract

Logophoric Pronouns (LOGPs) in some West-African Languages occur in attitude environments and are anaphorically linked to an attitude holder in a superordinate clause ('Maryi says/thinks/hopes [CP that' ... LOGPi ...]). Existing accounts capture this dependency by treating a LOGP as a variable that is obligatorily bound by an operator at the edge of the embedded clause. Culy (1994) and Bimpeh and Sode (2021) however pointed out that from the viewpoint of the strict-sloppy ambiguity of pronouns, LOGPs in Ewe do not behave like bound variables, allowing both sloppy (bound) as well as strict (non-bound) readings. We strengthen this line of criticism by providing novel data indicating that LOGPs in Ewe, Igbo and Yoruba support strict readings in focus contexts. We offer an alternative account to existing approaches which builds on Bimpeh et al. (2023) and can capture both strict and sloppy interpretations of LOGPs.