Person complementarity and (pseudo) Person Case Constraint effects: Evidence from Inuktitut
Abstract This paper examines the nature of person complementarity in Eastern Canadian Inuktitut (Eskimo-Aleut), arguing that despite its apparent patterning as a Person Case Constraint (PCC) effect, it is not due to the presence of a defective intervener blocking person agreement with a lower argume...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2019
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cnj.2019.20 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0008413119000203 |
Summary: | Abstract This paper examines the nature of person complementarity in Eastern Canadian Inuktitut (Eskimo-Aleut), arguing that despite its apparent patterning as a Person Case Constraint (PCC) effect, it is not due to the presence of a defective intervener blocking person agreement with a lower argument, as is often the case in other languages. Instead, the observed effect is caused by a defective or missing person probe on C that cannot value local person features on absolutive arguments. Given the use of the PCC as a diagnostic for differentiating clitics and agreement, this result has implications for the proper identification of φ -marking in Inuktitut. |
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