A Case for Bare Accusatives in Hindi-Urdu

I propose and evaluate an Agree-based analysis of accusative allomorphy in Hindi-Urdu. Evidence for a bare accusative form comes from the grammaticality of bare objects in non-finite environments. I argue that accusative case is checked compositely by Voice and v. Subject case (nominative and ergative) is checked by Fin, T and Asp. I also argue that case and agreement must be dissociated in HU as T may agree with nominals it does not assign case to

The Urdu Active Impersonal

It has been reported in several works that Urdu can optionally preserve accusative case in passives. In this paper, I show that the accusative-preserving passive construction is different from canonical passives, and reanalyse it as an active construction with a silent pro subject. I also compare it to similar constructions in Polish, Ukrainian, Icelandic and Viennese German

The unique functionality of Urdu light verb jaa and Voice head variation

Variation in the properties and structural position of Hindi-Urdu light verbs is well-established. Similar accounts across the literature agree on three positions within the verbal spine: a lower v/V position, an intermediate position, and a high external-argument-introducing head (see Butt & Ramchand, 2005; Suliman, 2015; Sobolak, 2023). In this paper, we add light verb jaa to this discussion. Specifically, we show that jaa occupies an external-argument-introducing Voice head, using evidence from instrumental causers in jaa-constructions. We also show that, within the Voice head typology, Voice-jaa is distinct from the canonical active and passive Voice heads, and is, in fact, akin to Voice in marked anticausatives

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome using ejaculated sperm and retrieved sperm in azoospermic men.

Introduction:We aimed to determine pregnancy and miscarriage rates following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles using retrieved epididymal and testicular sperm in azoospermic men and ejaculated sperm in oligospermic and normospermic men. Materials AndMethods: This retrospective study was carried out on 517 couples who underwent ICSI. They included 96 couples with azoospermia and 421 with oligospermia or normal sperm count in the male partner. Of the men with azoospermia, 69 underwent percutaneous epididymal aspiration (PESA) and 47 underwent testicular sperm extraction (TESE). In the 421 men with oligospermia or normal sperm count, ejaculated sperm was used for ICSI. The differences in the outcomes of ICSI using PESA or TESE and ejaculated sperm were evaluated. The main outcome measures were pregnancy and miscarriage rates.Results: No significant differences were seen in pregnancy and miscarriage rates with surgically retrieved and ejaculated sperm. The pregnancy rates (including frozen embryo transfer) were 43.5%, 36.2%, and 41.4% in couples with PESA, TESE, and ejaculated sperm, respectively (P = .93). The miscarriage rates were 16.7%, 23.5%, and 12.1%, respectively (P = .37).Conclusion: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection in combination with PESA and TESE is an effective method and can successfully be performed to treat men with azoospermia. The outcomes with these procedures are comparable to ICSI using ejaculated sperm

Voice, Case and the External Argument: The perspective from Urdu

This dissertation explores the relationships between Voice, case and the external argument, as seen in Urdu. The dissertation investigates three broad connections between these phenomena. The first is that between the external argument and accusative case, as reported in Burzio's Generalisation (Burzio, 1986). I argue that the presence of an external argument does not play a role in accusative case assignment; instead, the crucial factor is the type of Voice head present. This brings us to the second connection explored in this thesis, Voice and case. I propose that the active/non-active distinction can be recast in terms of case. Non-active Voice heads assign an inherent oblique case to their specifier, while active Voice heads assign structural accusative case to an argument in their c-command domain, that is, the direct object. Assuming each functional head can only assign case once, the status of non-active Voice as an inherent case-assigner not only explains but predicts that it will not assign accusative case. Lastly, I investigate the effect of case on the notion of subjecthood. I show that the behaviour of an argument with respect to some subject properties is conditioned by its case; however, this connection is only indirect, and reflects the relationship or lack thereof between the argument and T. This dissertation provides new insights into the relationships between Voice, case assignment and the external argument in Urdu, specifically related to the nature of Voice heads, Burzio's Generalisation and notions of subjecthood. Analyses of several other phenomena, such as agreement, applicative constructions, light verb constructions, and ergative case assignment, are also presented as part of the discussion. The dissertation leaves us with big-picture questions surrounding the functional role of Voice, and the typology of Voice heads, both in Urdu and cross-linguistically, as well as questions about issues related to case, such as the structural representation of case, case assignment mechanisms, and the relationship between case and agreement. Through the course of the dissertation, I also highlight dialectal differences between Hindi and Urdu, and how these might be captured formally. The syntactic literature generally uses the umbrella term 'Hindi-Urdu', with little to no consideration of dialectal differences. Distinguishing between Hindi and Urdu is a first step in taking into account dialectal variation, bearing in mind, of course, that this is still an extremely broad division for what is a spectrum with many dialects within 'Hindi' and 'Urdu'.Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarshi