Phi-features and the Modular Architecture of - UMR 7023 - CNRS

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Basque will be described, since it will be important throughout this chapter for another
case of the PCC as well. 116 The Basque system of case and agreement system
exhibits an ergative-absolutive alignment, rather than nominative-accusative one.
The objects of transitives and the subjects of unaccusatives have absolutive case
and agreement (gloss A), while the subjects of transitives and unergatives have
ergative case and agreement (gloss E), (248). The agreement of both is obligatory.
When a dative (gloss D) is present, it must ordinarily agree as well, by its own
dedicated agreement morphology, (248)a. When the absolutive object is 1 st /2 nd
person, dative agreement is impossible through the PCC, (248)b. Just then, a nonagreeing
dative is exceptionally permitted, for most speakers.
(248) a. Miren-ij haurr-akk eramango di-zkik-oj-te / *d-itk-u-zte
Miren-D children-PL.A bring.will R.3pAk.3sDj.3pE / R.3pAj.3pE
b. Miren-ij zuk eramango zak-itk-u-zte / *zak-i-zkik-oj-te
Miren-D you.A bring.will R.2pAk.3pE / *R.2pAk.3sDj.3pE
They will bring the children/*you.A to Miren.D. (agreeing dative)
They will bring you/*the children.A to Miren.D. (nonagreeing dative)
(Western Basque)
Elordieta (2001) establishes through c-command diagnostics that the agreeing
datives of Basque are in the applicative construction. There is no prepositional
construction for datives. The repair works as in French to create full, nonagreeing
dative PPs. Consequently, the repaired datives cannot have interpretations that
need the applicative construction, like possessor (249) or causee (250).
(249) a. Miren-i haurr-ak besoetara bota di-zki-o-te / *d-it-u-zte
b. Miren-i zu besoetara bota *za-it-u-zte / *za-i-zki-o-te
They will throw (bota) the children/*you.A (haurrak/*zu) into the
arms (besoetara) Miren-D = into Miren's arms.
(possessor dative, Eastern/Western Basque)
(250) a. Miren-i haurrak etxe-ra ekarr-arazi *di-zki-o-te / *d-it-u-zte
b. *Miren-i zu etxe-ra ekarr-arazi *za-it-u-zte / *za-i-zki-o-te
They will make bring (ekarrarazi) Miren.D the children/*you.A
(haurrak/*zu) home (etxera).
(causee dative, Eastern/Western Basque, cf. (248))
The facts described so far hold for Western Basque. Eastern Basque differs in
the existence of both agreeing and nonagreeing independently of the PCC, so that
(248)a is good with dituzte. The former are applicative, the latter prepositional, so
that Eastern Basque has the prepositional construction that Western Basque lacks
French: 3 rd person accusatives differ from datives in clitic and nonclitic form and in doubling
conditions, but 1 st /2 nd person are identical in all respects to datives (Ormazabal and Romero
2009). It remains to be explained why 1/2.ACC can be targeted by the repair only when the dative
is itself 1/2.DAT, not 3.DAT; see section 5.8 for related discussion of Georgian.
116 The description is resumed from Rezac (2009), where further details are given.