<OT> New Posting: ROA-645

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 645-0304

The Person Hierarchy: Primitive or Epiphenomenal? Evidence from Halkomelem Salish

Jason Brown <jcb at interchange.ubc.ca>
Karsten Koch <karstenak at hotmail.com>
Martina Wiltschko <wmartina at interchange.ubc.ca>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=645


Abstract:
It is a common assumption that there is a markedness relation
between person rankings and the realization of grammatical
relations (cf. Silverstein, 1976; Dixon, 1979): the higher
a person is on the person hierarchy, the more likely it
is that this person will function as a transitive agent
(1) or as a subject (2).


(1)	Person-hierarchy á la Silverstein (1976) and Dixon (1979)
1st > 2nd > 3rd Pro. > Proper N > Human > Anim. > Inanim.
<--------------------------------
likelihood of functioning as transitive agents 

(2)	Hierarchy of grammatical relations:
Subj > Object

There are two apparent person-hierarchy effects in Halkomelem
Salish discussed in this paper: split ergativity, and person
based gaps in the transitive paradigm. Aissen (1999) argues
that Optimality Theory (OT) can be used to account for these
person hierarchy effects. Since OT is a formal theory of
markedness, it should naturally account for markedness effects
that result from the person hierarchy. In Aissen’s account,
Silverstein and Dixon’s intuition is formalized by means
of harmonic alignment between different hierarchies (Prince
and Smolensky 1993). Thus, the hierarchies in (1) and (2)
are primitives in an OT account.

In contrast, in a structural approach (i.e. Principles &
Parameters), the hierarchy of grammatical relations is structural
ly derived. If we take this seriously, we might expect that
person-hierarchy effects are structurally derived as well.
A consequence of this view would be that the person hierarchy
is epiphenomenal (Wiltschko 2003c).

Comments: Proceedings of NELS 34
Keywords: person hierarchy, split-ergativity, harmonic alignment
Areas: Syntax,Morphology
Type: Conference Proceedings Chapter

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=645