On the syntax and semantics of resumptive pronouns

Some notes on the ‘specificity effects’of optional resumptive pronouns

“…As for exceptionally bound pronouns -like the Another possible strategy is to account for the specificity effects in resumptive relatives by restricting the semantic type of the resumptive pronoun's interpretation. This insight, originally due to Doron (1982), was developed by Sells (1984, 410 ff. ) for the contrast in (1): a resumptive pronoun is always interpreted as an individual-level variable, but on the de dicto interpretation, the object of an intensional verb is of a different semantic type (a concept for Sells, a property of properties for Doron):…”

“…It was originally observed by Doron (1982) that in Hebrew restrictive relatives, optional resumptive pronouns in object position restrict the range of possible interpretations with respect to those allowed by gap relatives. This is shown by the contrast in (1): the gap relative (1a) is ambiguous between a nonspecific (de dicto) and a specific (de re) interpretation of the relative "head", whereas the resumptive relative (1b) is unambiguous, and only allows for the specific interpretation.…”

“…*nonspecific -√specific Dani will find the woman that he seeks her (Doron 1982, via Sells 1984 * I am indebted to Hamida Demirdache and Alain Rouveret for inviting me to participate in the workshop 'Resumptive pronouns at the interfaces' (Paris, June 2007), and to the audience to that event, for various important comments. I am very grateful to Alex Grosu for discussion that helped clarify the semantic issues involved.…”

“…(Doron 1982, via Sharvit 1999 The gap relative (2a) allows for both a single individual reading of the relative "head", involving the same woman for all the men, and a multiple individual reading, such that for every man there is a possibly different woman that he invited (on this second reading, the pronoun lo in the matrix clause can be exceptionally bound by the universal quantifier embedded within the relative clause). The resumptive relative (2b), however, only allows for the single individual reading.…”

Acquisition of Modern Standard Arabic by Speakers of Different Arabic Colloquial Varieties: Resumption in Object Relative Clauses

“…‫ُّها‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ُحِ‬ ‫ي‬ ‫التي‬ َ ‫المرأة‬ ُ ‫عادل‬ ُ ‫سيجد‬ sayajidu Adel-u ?al-mar?at-aallatiiyuHibbu-ha will-find Adel-nom the-woman-acc that (he) love-her 'Adel will find the woman that he loves' Doron(1982) and Sells (1984)pointout (using equivalent examples from Hebrew) that only in sentence (5), the reference of the object relativised element, ?al-mar?ah 'the-woman', must refer to a particular individual woman that Adel loves. However, in (4), where the resumptive pronoun is lacking, this relativised element can refer to a particular woman, as in (5), or have a more generic reference to unspecified woman of particular properties.…”