Binding-theoretic analysis of Navajo possessor YI- ...

• Main Author: Horseherder, Nicole
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2009
• Subjects: Dogrib; Northern Athabaskan
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0088584; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0088584

This thesis examines possessor yi- in Navajo (Southern Athabaskan). Previous analyses deal with,y/- mainly as a prefix attached to verbs and post-positions; in contrast to prior work, this thesis analyzes yi- as a possessor prefix (attached to nouns). I propose that possessor yi- is a disjoint anaphor (DA), as originally proposed by Saxon (1984a, 1986,1995) for its cognate in Dogrib (Northern Athabaskan). As a disjoint anaphor it must have a local A'-antecedent from which it is disjoint in reference. I show that, yi- must also have an A'-antecedent with which it is obligatorily coreferent. I interpret the binding behavior of yi- in terms of (Aouns1 1985) theory of Generalized Binding. I claim that since it must simultaneously satisfy condition (as an A-anaphor) and C (since it must be A-free), yi- must crucially have two antecedents: an A-antecedent with which it is coreferent, and an A-antecedent from which it is disjoint in reference. I show that for this relation to be licit, both antecedents (A' and A) ...