Syntactic Configurations of Chomsky’s Binding Theory in Pashto

A Cross-Linguistic Approach to the Study of Binding Module

Abstract

This paper attempts to chart out a syntactic analysis of Binding theory in Pashto language. The three principles of Binding theory, namely Principle A, B and C have been analyzed within the framework of Pashto syntactic structures. Binding theory provides syntactic structures for co-referential and non-coreferential NPs. Syntactically, co-referentiality finds S-representation in identical indices whereas non-coreferentality is expressed with non-identical indices. English and Pashto share certain formal configurations of Binding theory. There are, however, certain aspects of Binding that do not find similar expressions in Pashto. The study recognizes the different morphological forms of anaphors and pronominals in Pashto. These forms pose certain syntactic viabilities and lead to conclusion that Pashto treats the concepts of binding, locality and C-commanding along different lines.