[Lingtyp] Query about constraints on co-referential arguments in matrix clauses
Peter Austin
pa2 at soas.ac.uk
Mon Jul 22 09:45:03 UTC 2019
Thanks to Daniel for referencing my work. Many Australian languages show
switch-reference in the equivalent of NP-modifying relative clauses but the
general principle is that they mark whether the S/A of the matrix clauses
is or is not coreferential with the S/A of the dependent clause (with
Warlpiri making a three-way distinction between S/A=S/A coreference, P=S/A
coference, and other (including no coreference)). What Matt is talking
about is something different and I do not know of any examples where only
S/P in the matrix clause can be coreferential with any argument in the
dependent clause.
Best wishes,
Peter
On Mon, 22 Jul 2019 at 05:25, Daniel Ross <djross3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Matt,
>
> There has been some discussion of related phenomena as part of research on
> 'switch-reference', where grammatical marking indicates whether the subject
> of one clause is the same or different from another. The source that comes
> to mind that discusses some cases like this, specifically including
> relative clauses, is:
> Austin, Peter. 1981. Switch-Reference in Australia. Language 57(2).
> 309–334. https://doi.org/10.2307/413693
>
> The relativized argument is usually irrelevant to switch-reference, unless
> it happens to be the case that there are also restrictions on which matrix
> clause arguments can be modified with relative clauses (or with certain
> subtypes of relative clauses). Austin seems to discuss some examples of
> this sort, although the details are complicated. This point also connects
> with what Pilar wrote above.
>
> Daniel Ross
> PhD Candidate in Linguistics
> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
>
> On Sun, Jul 21, 2019 at 9:11 PM Valenzuela, Pilar <valenzuela at chapman.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Hola Matt,
>>
>> Panoan languages have a set of same-subject markers where the matrix
>> clause coreferential argument must be S, and another set where it must be
>> A. The dependent clause argument can be either S or A. Hope this is useful.
>>
>> Saludos,
>>
>> Pilar
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf of
>> Seino van Breugel <seinobreugel at gmail.com>
>> *Sent:* Sunday, July 21, 2019 9:37:56 PM
>> *To:* Matthew Carroll <mattcarrollj at gmail.com>
>> *Cc:* <LINGTYP at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG> <
>> lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Lingtyp] Query about constraints on co-referential
>> arguments in matrix clauses
>>
>> *External Message*
>>
>> Dear Matthew,
>>
>> My 2010 article on attributive clauses, published in Studies in Language,
>> may be useful to you. I have attached a copy.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Seino
>> __________________
>> Dr. Seino van Breugel
>> https://independent.academia.edu/SeinovanBreugel
>> <https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Findependent.academia.edu%2FSeinovanBreugel&data=02%7C01%7Cvalenzuela%40chapman.edu%7C656c8e1dff474e1193c508d70e560f56%7C809929af2d2545bf9837089eb9cfbd01%7C1%7C0%7C636993635578459019&sdata=AIhnXRtab90glVhyw9jQtLrUsUQpSOkJmeZhQcSLsss%3D&reserved=0>
>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfiZwqyWC7HfZUAQ1RH1ew
>> <https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fchannel%2FUCHfiZwqyWC7HfZUAQ1RH1ew&data=02%7C01%7Cvalenzuela%40chapman.edu%7C656c8e1dff474e1193c508d70e560f56%7C809929af2d2545bf9837089eb9cfbd01%7C1%7C0%7C636993635578469011&sdata=ovuBBQ2XL%2FA46h3hTX4ro75EuWmsvXEPSUy07yKAHgU%3D&reserved=0>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 22, 2019 at 3:30 AM Matthew Carroll <mattcarrollj at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> I am curious about restrictions on arguments in matrix clauses that are
>> co-referential with those in subordinate clauses.
>>
>> Restrictions on the role that a co-referential argument may play in a
>> subordinate clause are well established in the literature (Keenan and
>> Comrie 1977, and others). Rather I am interested in restrictions that may
>> apply to the role that co-referential argument may play in the *matrix*
>> clause.
>>
>> For example, in Ngkolmpu a Yam language spoken in West Papua that I have
>> been working on, there is a relative clause strategy involving a right
>> adjoined relative clause. The co-referential argument may serve *any
>> role in the subordinate clause* but can only be the *absolutive argument
>> of the matrix clause.*
>>
>> 1. krar-w irepe pi srampu [ntop
>> mi bori ye]
>> dog-sg.erg man dist he:will:bite:him big rel.abs
>> comp is
>> 'The dog will bite that man *who is big*’
>> ***’The dog, *who is big*, will bite that man.’
>>
>> Example (1) can only be interpreted as 'the man who is big' and never
>> 'the dog who is big'. This has been confirmed through careful and
>> systematic elicitation on this topic and confirmed by examples in my
>> growing corpus (currently at about 1500 naturalistic utterances).
>>
>> Dixon (1977) notes similar restrictions in Yidiɲ. On page 323 of his
>> grammar he posits the coreferentiality constraint: "*There must be an NP
>> common to the main clause and subordinate clause, and it must be in surface
>> S or O function in each clause." *
>>
>> Unlike the Ngkolmpu example, this applies to both the matrix NP and the
>> subordinate NP which only applies to the matrix NP. Yet, importantly for my
>> purpose, does place a restriction on the role of the matrix NP. I am
>> curious to see if people know of other examples of these kind of
>> constraints in matrix NPs? or perhaps there is a paper that I have missed
>> in my (rather brief) survey of the literature on the topic.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Matt
>>
>> Matthew J. Carroll
>>
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--
Prof Peter K. Austin
Emeritus Professor in Field Linguistics, SOAS
Visiting Researcher, Oxford University
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