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Formal Studies in Slovenian Syntax: In honor of Janez Orešnik
Edited by Franc Lanko Marušič and Rok Žaucer
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 236] 2016
► pp. 283–312

Not two sides of one coin

Clitic person restrictions and Icelandic quirky agreement

| University of Connecticut

The paper re-examines the relation between the Person-Case Constraint (PCC) – a common restriction on the distribution of person features in clusters of weak pronominal elements – and the ban against 1st and 2nd person nominative objects found in Icelandic. The two phenomena have been argued to result from a Case-checking asymmetry that arises when arguments with inherent case asymmetrically c-command arguments with structural case. I present a previously undiscussed PCC pattern found in Slovenian where the person restriction also occurs on dative clitics asymmetrically c-commanded by an accusative object clitic, which I show requires divorcing the PCC from Case-checking. I propose instead that the PCC arises from the feature underspecification of defective pronouns coupled with the local nature of Agree. This also means that the Icelandic restriction, which occurs on strong pronouns, should be seen as a separate phenomenon. I show that this explains better why it is voided by syncretic inflectional morphology.

Published online: 8 December 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.236.12ste
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Cited by (2)

Cited by 2 other publications

Stegovec, Adrian
2020. Taking case out of the Person-Case Constraint. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 38:1 ► pp. 261 ff. DOI logo
Franks, Steven L.
2018. Person Feature Geometry and Pronominal Clitic Ordering Preferences. Zeitschrift für Slawistik 63:4 ► pp. 627 ff. DOI logo

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