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

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continue to access the speaker/addressee in (405), including evaluative terms, perspective
or orientation sensitive terms, and evidential adverbs (Speas and Tenny
2003). No manipulation of perspectives helps with (401). 200
(405) a. % N'importe quel idiot peut voir que jei me transporte facilement (dans
moni/*soni fauteuil).
% Any idiot can see that Ii am easily transported (in myi/*hisi wheel-
chair).
b. % Apparemment je me transporte plus facilement vers la gauche que
vers la droit.
% Apparently, I am transported more easily towards the left than to the
right. (i.e. the speaker's left/right)
(French, judgments on mediopassive reading)
Postal (1989: chapter 5) proposes that the 1 st /2 nd person restriction is obviated
in these cases by the use of 3 rd person expressions. This is transparently so with
impostors in (404). In contrast, the 1PL on discussed in section 6.3 is not immune
to the restriction in (404), despite its 3SG agreement and se-reflexive. There appears
to be a natural difference. Impostors like votre serviteur 'your servant' are
syntactically and interpretively 3 rd person DPs that refer to the speaker, much as
my person. They can and usually do antecede 3 rd rather than 1 st person anaphora,
as in (406) (Collins and Postal 2008). 1PL on on the other hand must antecede
1PL pronouns save for se and control. Apparently, the 1 st /2 nd person restriction in
mediopassives sees on but not impostors as 1 st /2 nd person. If the restriction is the
PCC, on but not impostors are [+person] for it (cf. (391)).
(406) a. Nous, oni est/*sommes fiers de nousi/*euxi-mêmes.
Wei, oni is.3SG proud of ouri/*themi-selves
b. Les auteursi sont/*sommes fiers d'euxi/*nousi-mêmes.
The authorsi are.3PL/*1PL proud of themi/*ouri-selves.
(French, (b) Collins and Postal 2008)
The trick is to understand how the various 1 st /2 nd persons in the above examples
pattern with 3 rd person impostors. A hint is given by the contrast of verbs like
transport, which allow (to some extent) 1 st /2 nd person in mediopassives, and others
200 Ruwet (1990: 52) proposes that French impostors may cede control of the centre of consciousness,
explaining why in (i) the impostor votre serviteur but not the 1 st pronoun can be
picked up by a genitive clitics. However, apparently, idiot, left/right are controllable by the impostor
in mediopassives (404)c and in (i) (cf. Collins and Postal (2008) for impostors anteceding
the self-type pronouns that Zribi-Hertz 1989 shows to depend on the centre of consciousness in
English). I am grateful to A. Zribi-Hertz for making available to me the draft of Ruwet's article
which contains the footnotes removed in the published version, and for discussion.
(i) {Le précepteur de votre serviteuri} / {*Moni précepteur} croit que Sophie eni est amoureuse.
{The tutor of yours trulyi} / {*Myi tutor} believes that Sophie is enamoured of.himi.
(Ruwet 1990: 52 note 31; "moderately acceptable", unclear for Bibi 'number one')