Optional agreement in Santiago Tz’utujil (Mayan) is syntactic

Levin, Theodore; Lyskawa, Paulina; Ranero, Rodrigo

doi:10.1515/zfs-2020-2018

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The /ʃ/ segment in the nominalizer /-ʃik/ is also a target for the harmony process. This suffix attaches to a transitive stem and the resulting nominalization can be the complement of an auxiliary verb that is used in the progressive construction (Levin, Lyskawa & Ranero 2020), as illustrated below:…”

Section: The Harmony Is Long-distancementioning

confidence: 99%

Sibilant harmony in Santiago Tz’utujil (Mayan)

Lyskawa

Ranero

2021

Proc Ling Soc Amer

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We analyze sibilant harmony in the Santiago Atitlán dialect of Tz’utujil (Mayan), a phenomenon that was briefly described by Dayley (1985). Novel data show that the obligatory harmony process (i) is asymmetrical (triggered only by [+ant] sibilants), (ii) progressive, and (iii) applies long-distance. Furthermore, we argue that the process is not stem-controlled. In contextualizing the phenomenon within the typology of sibilant harmony (Hansson 2010), we conclude that it is unique. Finally, we suggest that Santiago Tz’utujil sibilant harmony has been stable diachronically because the target segment /ʃ/ is always in the stressed syllable, thus being salient in the input during acquisition.

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Section: The Harmony Is Long-distancementioning

confidence: 99%

Sibilant harmony in Santiago Tz’utujil (Mayan)

Lyskawa

Ranero

2021

Proc Ling Soc Amer

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“…The test was originally designed by Levin et al (2021) for Santiago Tz'utujil. The empirical observation behind this test is that, while all plural subjects of transitive verbs must be matched by a plural marker, third person plural objects and arguments of such verbs as tzaq 'fall' are only optionally doubled by a plural absolutive clitic.…”

Section: Unergative Vs Unaccusative: Optional Agreementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A similar pattern is observed in Kaqchikel: plural third person objects do not have to be cross-referenced by ABS (12-a), while agreement with subjects of transitive verbs is obligatory (12-b). Although Levin et al (2021) mention that in Tz'utujil the optionality of agreement is attested only for inanimate arguments, our Kaqchikel consultants allow optional agreement for [-Human] controllers, both inanimate and animate.…”

Section: Unergative Vs Unaccusative: Optional Agreementmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the nature of arguments in event nominals

Burukina

2021

Proc Ling Soc Amer

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The present paper examines deverbal event nouns in Kaqchikel (Mayan) that consist of both nominal and verbal projections. Contrary to the recent proposal made by Imanishi (2020), who argues that nominalized verbs in Kaqchikel obligatorily lack an external argument projection, we demonstrate that intransitive unergative predicates maintain their external arguments under nominalization. We further propose that event -ik nouns in Kaqchikel are derived via predicative control with the verbal part being predicated of the possessor DP introduced in Spec,nP (in the spirit of Landau 2015). Additional support for this comes from the behavior of antipassive predicates under nominalization, which preserve the internal argument instead of the external one.

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Optional agreement as successful/failed Agree

Lyskawa

Ranero

2021

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We investigate optional predicate agreement in Santiago Tz’utujil (Mayan). Several generalizations emerge: (i) inanimate arguments base-generated as complements control agreement optionally; (ii) some animate arguments base-generated as complements control agreement optionally; (iii) all arguments base-generated as specifiers control full agreement obligatorily. We propose that two conditions must be met for the operation Agree to succeed, resulting in the exponence of all the features of the agreement controller. First, a goal must be visible (bear the right feature). Second, a goal must be accessible (be in the right structural position). If one or both conditions are not met, Agree fails, but the derivation converges and 3sg agreement is exponed. While Agree is deterministic, surface optionality arises when the operation fails. We use optional agreement to diagnose the syntactic structure of understudied constructions in Mayan (nominalizations, Agent Focus). We discuss microvariation, highlighting methodological considerations that arise when assuming an I-language approach.

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Optional agreement in Santiago Tz’utujil (Mayan) is syntactic

Cited by 5 publications

References 34 publications

Sibilant harmony in Santiago Tz’utujil (Mayan)

Sibilant harmony in Santiago Tz’utujil (Mayan)

On the nature of arguments in event nominals

Optional agreement as successful/failed Agree

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