Long-Distance Agreement in Urdu-English Code-Switching: A Proxy-Agreement Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the phenomenon of long-distance agreement (LDA) in Urdu-English code-switching (CS) employing a Proxy Agreement model (Polinsky and Potsdam, 2001). Drawing on qualitative research design, the study collected data from balanced bilingual speakers using a field-work instrument, audio-recording. The analysis shows that traditional agreement (probe-goal) is insufficiently redundant to account for DP agreement in Urdu-English code-switching (CS) in embedded clauses. Generative models, however, predict uniformity not only in monolingual but also in bilingual competence, the Urdu-English code-switching (CS) data reveals permeability across syntactic domains, reflecting the decisive role of argument structure, specifically topicality, in constructing agreement patterns. The study concludes that discourse-sensitive Polinsky & Potsdam’s (2001) Proxy Agreement framework provides a more understandable and comprehensive account of bilingual syntax, particularly in embedded clauses. The study implicates bilingual education by exhibiting the permeability of syntactic domains in Urdu-English code-switching, facilitates linguistics theory toward integrating discourse- sensitive models, and supports research in multilingual communication by demonstrating how topicality influences agreement patterns across languages.