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Abstract: Despite exhibiting a high degree of uniformity, Bantu languages display a surprising amount of variation in extraction contexts, particularly with regard to agreement patterns. This paper examines this variation, focusing first on Bantu OVS relatives and topicalization structures in which the raised operator triggers morphological subject agreement on the verb. After critiquing accounts by and others, this paper proposes an analysis of OVS structures in which the establishment of agreement relations is delayed until the end of the derivation. I then take this account of OVS as the basis for discussing variation in the agreement properties of operator constructions across Bantu languages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In many Bantu languages, not only the grammatical agreement of verbs, but also SVO word order, has a role in establishing grammatical relations. In Matengo, however, the main function of word order is to code information structure, rather than grammatical relations. This paper discusses the possible positioning of each element within sentences in Matengo, and shows that word order is largely determined by information structure, especially topicality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]