Switch-Reference (SR) is a phenomenon in which the coreferentiality of two (or more) subjects in a complex sentence is indicated by a morphological device. The purpose of this dissertation is to discuss recent work which deals with SR within the Government and Binding Theory, and propose an alternative analysis to it. The framework I will adopt for such an alternative analysis of SR is Categorial Grammar. A basic notion underlying Categorial Grammar is that an expression is divided into a functor and an argument, and each functor and argument are further divided into a functor and an argument until the division reaches to an undividable element. Given the assumptions that a functor and its argument must be compatible and that a functor has some subcategorization properties, I argue that "Agreement" phenomenon (subsuming agreement and disagreement) can be handled insightfully. Furthermore, I propose that such a treatment of "Agreement" can be extended to SR systems in general if we consider the "same subject" and "different subject" phenomena as cases of agreement and disagreement, respectively. I claim that a composite in which a SR morpheme appears forms a functor which takes another composite as its argument, and that the relation between the functor and its argument and the relation between some parts of the functor and its argument are characterized as "agreement" or "disagreement": The functor and the argument must be compatible as assumed above, and the nature of compatibility (whether "agreement" or "disagreement") is controlled by the subcategorization properties of the SR morpheme associated with the functor (i.e., if "same subject", the relation is agreement, and if "different subject", it is disagreement). By treating SR in this fashion, I intend to provide a unified analysis for apparently different SR systems in three diverse languages, namely, Tairora, Hopi, and Warlpiri.

Revision of the author's Thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-84) and index.

Pastaza Kichwa is a Quechuan language spoken in eastern Ecuador. This thesis describes its use of switch-reference which is traditionally understood to be an interclausal cross-referencing feature. Switch-reference is manifested by one of two morphemes that mark a subordinate clause as having either the same or different subject as another clause. Switch-reference has been described for other Quechuan languages and some of these studies present challenges to the theoretical underpinnings of switch reference (Stewart 1988, Dreidemie 2007) others present associated functions of switch-reference morphemes (Cole 1982). This study tests some of the propositions made about switch-reference in other Quechuan languages in Pastaza Kichwa.The data comes from the Corpus of Pastaza Kichwa which is a collection of 40 narrative texts. A broad statistical analysis of the switch-reference morphemes in the forty texts verified a distributional pattern posited by Stewart (1988). A sample of five texts was used for a closer in context analysis to examine adherence to proposed typological rules of canonical switch-reference, to test Stewarts (1988) motivation for counter examples, and test additional functions proposed by Cole (1982).Analysis and results indicate that switch-reference in Pastaza Kichwa does not obey all of the typological rules of canonical switch-reference. Stewarts proposed motivation proved inapplicable and potentially problematic, and that associated functions of switch-reference markers are due more to contextual factors rather than specific constructions.

Revision of the author's thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-84) and index.

This thesis is a corpus and narrative-based description of how the lexical aspect of predicates with the switch reference same subject (SS) suffix -ʃa affects the meaning of utterances in Pastaza Kichwa (PK), a Quechuan dialect spoken in Amazonian Ecuador. The main purpose of this thesis is to describe how verb chains that use -ʃa are affected by lexical aspect. The secondary purpose is to compare these uses with current grammars, and determine whether there are more uses than are currently proposed in the most recent grammar of PK. The most recent grammar of PK lists the functions of the coreference -ʃa as being indicative of simultaneous and sequential actions (Nuckolls & Swanson, 2020). I argue that not only does the lexical aspect of predicates in a -ʃa verb chain determine simultaneity and sequentiality, but there is a third category of habitual action that is at least partially determined by the lexical aspect of -ʃa verb chains. After introducing the concept of switch reference, I introduce the concept of lexical aspect. From there I discuss my methodology and analysis, which is based on Van Valin’s (2006) tests and categories of lexical aspect. My analysis is composed of text examples from the Quechua Realwords (QRW) corpus (Nuckolls, 2021), and a PK narrative about Noah and the Flood. These are supplemented by examples from the Corpus of Pastaza Kichwa (CoPK) compiled by Rice (2018). These examples are used to demonstrate the lexical aspect of each verb in a -ʃa verb chain.

This dissertation explores the semantics and syntax of switch-reference (SR). It makes novel generalizations about the phenomenon based on two empirical sources: A broad, cross-linguistic survey of descriptive reports, and semantic fieldwork that narrowly targets the Kiowa language of Oklahoma. It shows that previous attempts at formalizing switch-reference cannot work, and offers a new theory of switch-reference that derives the facts through effects that emerge from the interaction between the syntax and the semantics. The empirical investigation results in four major findings: First, SR is introduced by its own head, instead of being parasitic to T or C. Second, switch-reference can track Austinian topic situations. Third, it must track topic situations when it is found with coordination, and it cannot do so with intensional embedded clauses. Finally, generalizations or theories based solely on the syntax are not able to account for these facts. These findings are explained by analyzing switch-reference as a pronominal head in the extended verbal projection of the embedded clause. This head introduces a relation of identity or non-identity between two arguments. One of these is in the dominant clause, the other is the highest indexed constituent in the sister of the SR head. The arguments are selected indirectly, through binding structures that are interpreted as lambda-abstraction. The clausemate argument is bound by the SR head; the properties of feature valuation derive the height constraint. The pronoun introduced by the SR head is bound by the connective. Binding by the connective results in the interpretation of the SR-marked clause as a property. This property is then ascribed to an argument in the dominant clause. This theory accounts for the generalizations, and makes fruitful predictions about other aspects of switch-reference, notably when it tracks non-referential subjects. This dissertation improves our understanding of switch-reference, of situation semantics, and of reference-tracking in general. It ties reference-tracking to contextual restriction by use of topic situations, which are anaphoric pronouns used to restrict sentential interpretation. It provides the first solid evidence of morphology sensitive to situations. In addition, the theory of switch-reference proposed here relies on independently-motivated mechanisms in the grammar. This reliance links switch-reference to other mechanisms of co-reference from inside an embedded clause, and finds a solid place for switch-reference in linguistic theory.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / Menggwa Dla is a Papuan language spoken in Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea and Kabupaten Jayapura of Papua Province, Indonesia. Menggwa Dla is a dialect of the Dla language; together with its sister language Anggor (e.g. Litteral 1980), the two languages form the Senagi language family, one of the small Papuan language families found in North-Central New Guinea. The main text of this thesis is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the linguistic, cultural and political landscapes of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border area where the Dla territory is located. Chapter 2 introduces the phonology of Menggwa Dla; described in this chapter are the phonemes, allophonic variations, phonotactics, morpho-phonological processes, stress assignment and intonation of the language. The inventory of phonemes in Menggwa is average for a Papuan language (15 consonants and 5 vowels). The vast majority of syllables come in the shape of V, CV or C1C2V where C2 can be /n/ /r/ /l/ /j/ or /w/. In C1C2V syllables, the sonority rises from C1 to V (§2.2.2). Nevertheless, there are a few words with word-medial consonant sequences like ft /ɸt/, lk /lk/, lf /lɸ/ or lk /lk/ where the sonority drops from the first to the second consonant; the first consonant in these sequences is analysed as the coda of the previous syllable (§2.2.3). Chapter 3 is an overview of the word classes in Menggwa Dla; the morphological, syntactic and semantic properties of the three major word classes (nouns, adjectives and verbs) and the minor word classes are compared in this chapter. Chapter 4 describes the properties of nouns and noun phrases; the person-number-gender categories, noun-phrasal syntax, nominal clitics and personal pronouns are outlined in this chapter. Menggwa Dla has a rich array of case, topic and focus markers which comes in the form of clitics (§4.5). Subject pronouns (‘citation pronouns’) only mark person (i.e. one for each of the three persons), whereas object and genitive pronouns mark person (including inclusive/exclusive first person), number, and sometimes also gender features (§4.6). Chapter 5 introduces various morphological and syntactic issues which are common to both independent and dependent clauses: verb stems, verb classes, cross-referencing, intraclausal syntax, syntactic transitivity and semantic valence. Cross-referencing in Menggwa Dla is complex: there are seven paradigms of subject cross-reference suffixes and four paradigms of object cross-references. Based on their cross-referencing patterns, verbs are classified into one of five verb classes (§5.2). There is often a mismatch between the number of cross-reference suffixes, the semantic valence, and the syntactic transitivity within a clause. There are verbs where the subject cross-reference suffix, or the object suffix, or both the subject and object suffixes are semantically empty (‘dummy cross-reference suffixes’; §5.3.2). Chapter 6 outlines the morphology of independent verbs and copulas. Verbal morphology differs greatly between the three statuses of realis, semi-realis and irrealis; a section is devoted to the morphology for each of the three statuses. Chapter 7 introduces the dependent clauses and verbal noun phrases. Different types of dependent verbs are deverbalised to various degrees: subordinate verbs are the least deverbalised, chain verbs are more deverbalised (but they mark switch-reference (SR), and sometimes also interclausal temporal relations), and non-finite chain verbs even more deverbalised. Further deverbalised than the non-finite chain verbs are the verbal nouns; verbal noun phrases in Menggwa Dla functions somewhat like complement clauses in English. In younger speakers speech, the function of the chain clause SR system has diverted from the canonical SR system used by older speakers (§7.2.2). For younger speakers, coreferential chain verb forms and disjoint-reference chain verb forms only have their coreferential and disjoint-referential meaning — respectively — when the person-number-gender features of the two subject cross-reference suffixes cannot resolve the referentiality of the two subjects. Otherwise, the coreferential chain verb forms have become the unmarked SR-neutral chain verb forms. At the end of this thesis are appendix 1, which contains four Menggwa Dla example texts, and appendix 2, which contains tables of cross-reference suffixes, pronouns, copulas and irregular verbs.

This dissertation investigates the structure of Internally Headed Relative Clauses (henceforth, IHRCs) within the framework of Government and Binding Theory. I propose that the structure of IHRCs involves a modifying clause predicted of a head. We provide empirical as well as conceptual arguments showing that the head of an IHRC is a pro licensed by coindexation with the internal head. Following Safir's (1986) LCR, this licensing must be mediated by A$ sp prime$-Binding, which is effected by operator-movement to COMP within the modifying clause. Island Constraints provide evidence for operator-movement in IHRCs. IHRCs pattern with other Wh-constructions in this way. Correlatively, if there are no Island effects in IHRCs, there are no Island effects with other Wh-constructions (cf. Lakhota, Mojave). In this case an Unselective Binding relation is established in the language. Other properties such as the Definiteness Effect and the occurence of Switch-reference markers in IHRCs in Choctaw are also shown to follow from independent parameters. / The consequences of our analysis for Baker's (to appear) theory of Configurationality are explored. We propose to expand Baker's theory to allow "discontinuous" constituents of the type (Wh$ sb1$ ... OP$ sb1$) to account for Island effects in IHRCs of pronominal languages like Mohawk and Navajo. / No special rules for the interpretation of IHRCs are required. The LF-Raising rule proposed in Williamson (1987), which raises the internal head at LF to the COMP of the IHRC is shown to derive from the LCR as it is required to create an operator-variable (A$ sp prime$-Binding) relation. We provide further independent evidence for this rule in Chapter 2.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / Menggwa Dla is a Papuan language spoken in Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea and Kabupaten Jayapura of Papua Province, Indonesia. Menggwa Dla is a dialect of the Dla language; together with its sister language Anggor (e.g. Litteral 1980), the two languages form the Senagi language family, one of the small Papuan language families found in North-Central New Guinea. The main text of this thesis is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the linguistic, cultural and political landscapes of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border area where the Dla territory is located. Chapter 2 introduces the phonology of Menggwa Dla; described in this chapter are the phonemes, allophonic variations, phonotactics, morpho-phonological processes, stress assignment and intonation of the language. The inventory of phonemes in Menggwa is average for a Papuan language (15 consonants and 5 vowels). The vast majority of syllables come in the shape of V, CV or C1C2V where C2 can be /n/ /r/ /l/ /j/ or /w/. In C1C2V syllables, the sonority rises from C1 to V (§2.2.2). Nevertheless, there are a few words with word-medial consonant sequences like ft /ɸt/, lk /lk/, lf /lɸ/ or lk /lk/ where the sonority drops from the first to the second consonant; the first consonant in these sequences is analysed as the coda of the previous syllable (§2.2.3). Chapter 3 is an overview of the word classes in Menggwa Dla; the morphological, syntactic and semantic properties of the three major word classes (nouns, adjectives and verbs) and the minor word classes are compared in this chapter. Chapter 4 describes the properties of nouns and noun phrases; the person-number-gender categories, noun-phrasal syntax, nominal clitics and personal pronouns are outlined in this chapter. Menggwa Dla has a rich array of case, topic and focus markers which comes in the form of clitics (§4.5). Subject pronouns (‘citation pronouns’) only mark person (i.e. one for each of the three persons), whereas object and genitive pronouns mark person (including inclusive/exclusive first person), number, and sometimes also gender features (§4.6). Chapter 5 introduces various morphological and syntactic issues which are common to both independent and dependent clauses: verb stems, verb classes, cross-referencing, intraclausal syntax, syntactic transitivity and semantic valence. Cross-referencing in Menggwa Dla is complex: there are seven paradigms of subject cross-reference suffixes and four paradigms of object cross-references. Based on their cross-referencing patterns, verbs are classified into one of five verb classes (§5.2). There is often a mismatch between the number of cross-reference suffixes, the semantic valence, and the syntactic transitivity within a clause. There are verbs where the subject cross-reference suffix, or the object suffix, or both the subject and object suffixes are semantically empty (‘dummy cross-reference suffixes’; §5.3.2). Chapter 6 outlines the morphology of independent verbs and copulas. Verbal morphology differs greatly between the three statuses of realis, semi-realis and irrealis; a section is devoted to the morphology for each of the three statuses. Chapter 7 introduces the dependent clauses and verbal noun phrases. Different types of dependent verbs are deverbalised to various degrees: subordinate verbs are the least deverbalised, chain verbs are more deverbalised (but they mark switch-reference (SR), and sometimes also interclausal temporal relations), and non-finite chain verbs even more deverbalised. Further deverbalised than the non-finite chain verbs are the verbal nouns; verbal noun phrases in Menggwa Dla functions somewhat like complement clauses in English. In younger speakers speech, the function of the chain clause SR system has diverted from the canonical SR system used by older speakers (§7.2.2). For younger speakers, coreferential chain verb forms and disjoint-reference chain verb forms only have their coreferential and disjoint-referential meaning — respectively — when the person-number-gender features of the two subject cross-reference suffixes cannot resolve the referentiality of the two subjects. Otherwise, the coreferential chain verb forms have become the unmarked SR-neutral chain verb forms. At the end of this thesis are appendix 1, which contains four Menggwa Dla example texts, and appendix 2, which contains tables of cross-reference suffixes, pronouns, copulas and irregular verbs.

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