Restructuring and clausal architecture in Kannada

In this paper we discuss restructuring and clausal architecture in Kannada, a Dravidian language. We show that Kannada uses mono-clausal lexical/VPlevel restructuring, as proposed in Wurmbrand (2001, 2004) for German, and argue that embedded non-finite clauses are invariably “restructured” VPs. This lexical/VP-level restructuring is quite widespread in Kannada and is the only type of restructuring that this language allows. We show that tense/Agreement, though morphologically rich in this language is syntactically inert in that it does not license case or motivate NP raising. Moreover, both infinitival and finite clauses exhibit “VP-like” behavior.We further argue that these facts require a new typology for clausal architecture.