Chain Reduction via Substitution: Evidence from Mayan

Abstract

We argue that deletion is not the only way that chain links created by A′-movement can be affected at PF. Chain links can also be substituted by a morpheme. This substitution delivers a linearizable output (in a manner parallel to deletion), creating overt "traces" on the surface. We demonstrate the virtues of our proposal through the empirical lens of adjunct extraction in two Mayan languages of the K'ichean branch: K'iche' and Kaqchikel. In these languages, extraction of low adjuncts triggers the appearance of a verbal enclitic wi. The distribution of the enclitic upon long distance extraction shows that it must be analyzed as a surface reflex of substitution of a chain link. Our proposal provides evidence that movement proceeds successive cyclically and has two additional theoretical consequences: (i) C 0 must be a phase head (contra den Dikken 2009; 2017), (ii) v 0 cannot be a phase head (in line with Keine 2017).

Movement and cyclic Agree

“…This in turn implies that vP must not be a phase. We will not discuss this question further here, but see Keine (2020b) for independent arguments that vP is not a phase in Hindi; and Grano and Lasnik (2018); Keine (2020a,b); and Mendes and Ranero (2021) for additional arguments from other domains.…”

Syntactic Ergativity as a Constraint on Crossing Dependencies: The Perspective from Mayan

“…In other words, it is possible to directly extract a benefactive adjunct, but not a place adjunct. Henderson draws a parallel between high applicatives and wi-triggering adjuncts on the one hand and low applicatives and adjuncts that do not trigger wi on the other (see also discussion in Mendes and Ranero 2021, where these observations are situated within the theory of chain reduction). His argument is based on the semantic distinction between modifying events and modifying themes.…”