1887
image of Two arguments for a transformational approach to second position elements

Abstract

The literature on second position elements (a.k.a. second position clitics) is characterized by a longstanding discussion as to whether these elements are base-generated in second position or whether they are base-generated in first position and only arrive in second position as the result of a subsequent transformation. In this paper, I will provide two arguments for the transformational approach based on a typological study of second position coordinators (Weisser 2024), i.e. coordinators that appear inside of one of their conjuncts rather than in the semantically transparent peripheral position (e.g. in between the two conjuncts). The first argument will be based on the observation that, although the coordinators usually occupy a second position within their coordinands, they also show positional alternations in some syntactic contexts. These alternations, I argue, can be derived in both transformational and base-generation models. However, we find that the kinds of empirically attested alternations are systematically restricted in a way that falls out of a transformational approach but that cannot be captured in a base-generation approach. In other words, the base-generation approach massively overgenerates predicting much more alternations than we actually find. The second argument is based on opaque interactions between the second position placement and other morphosyntactic operations.

Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/lv.25002.wei
2026-04-24
2026-05-11
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/10.1075/lv.25002.wei/lv.25002.wei.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/lv.25002.wei&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Aelbrecht, Lobke
    (2010): The Syntactic Licensing of Ellipsis. John Benjamins, Amsterdam. 10.1075/la.149
    https://doi.org/10.1075/la.149 [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson, Stephen
    (1992): A-morphous morphology. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511586262
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511586262 [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson, Stephen R.
    (2005): Aspects of the theory of clitics. Oxford studies in theoretical linguistics, Oxford University Press, Oxford. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279906.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279906.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  4. Aremu, Daniel & Philipp Weisser
    (2024): Prosodically determined coordinator placement in Yorùbá, Glossa: A journal of general linguistics().
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Bermudez-Otero, Ricardo & John Payne
    (2011): There are no special clitics. In: A. Galani, G. Hicks & G. Tsoulas, eds., Morphology and its interfaces. John Benjamins, pp.–. 10.1075/la.178.06ber
    https://doi.org/10.1075/la.178.06ber [Google Scholar]
  6. Booij, Geert & Jerzy Rubach
    (1987): Postcyclic versus postlexical rules in lexical phonology, Linguistic Inquiry(), –.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Borsley, Robert & M.-L. Rivero
    (1994): Clitic Auxliaries and Incorporation in Polish, Natural Language & Linguistic Theory(), –.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Bošković, Željko
    (2001): On the nature of the syntax-phonology interface: Cliticization and related phenomena. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 10.1163/9780585474250
    https://doi.org/10.1163/9780585474250 [Google Scholar]
  9. Chung, Sandra
    (2003): The Syntax and Prosody of Weak Pronouns in Chamorro, Linguistic Inquiry(), –. 10.1162/002438903322520151
    https://doi.org/10.1162/002438903322520151 [Google Scholar]
  10. Dogil, Grzegorz
    (1987): Lexical Phonology and Floating Affixation in Polish. In: Phonologica 1984. Cambridge University Press, London.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Embick, David
    (1998): Mobile Inflections in Polish. In: J. N. Beckman, ed., Proceedings of NELS 25. GLSA, pp.–.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Embick, David & Rolf Noyer
    (2001): Movement operations after syntax, Linguistic Inquiry, –. 10.1162/002438901753373005
    https://doi.org/10.1162/002438901753373005 [Google Scholar]
  13. (2007): Distributed Morphology and the Syntax/Morphology Interface. In: G. Ramchand & C. Reiss, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Interfaces. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Feeling, Durbin
    (1975): Oklahoma-English Dictionary. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Fortescue, Michael
    (1997): West Greenlandic. Croon Helm.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Franks, Stephen & Piotr Bański
    (1999): Approaches to “Schizophrenic” Polish person agreement. In: H. C. C. M. V. K. Dziwirek, ed., Formal approaches to Slavic linguistics: The Seattle meeting. Michigan Slavic Publications, pp.–.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Ha, Seungwan
    (2008): Ellipsis, Right Node Raising and Across the Board Constructions. PhD thesis, Boston University, Boston.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Halpern, Aaron
    (1995): On the morphology and the placement of clitics. Stanford: CSLI.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Haspelmath, Martin
    (1993): A Grammar of Lezgian. Walter de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110884210
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110884210 [Google Scholar]
  20. (1995): The converb as a cross-linguistically valid category. In: M. Haspelmath & E. König, eds., Converbs in cross-linguistic perspective. Berlin: Mouton, pp.–. 10.1515/9783110884463‑003
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110884463-003 [Google Scholar]
  21. Ilori, Johnson Folorunso
    (2010): Nominal Constructions in Igálà and Yorùbá. PhD thesis, Postgraduate Schoole of Adekunle Ajason University, Akungba-Akoko.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Kalin, Laura
    (2022): Infixes really are (underlyingly) prefixes/suffixes: Evidence from allomorphy on the fine timing of infixation, Language(), –. 10.1353/lan.2022.0017
    https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2022.0017 [Google Scholar]
  23. Klavans, Judith
    (1985): The independence of syntax and phonology in cliticization, Language(), –. 10.2307/413422
    https://doi.org/10.2307/413422 [Google Scholar]
  24. (1995): On Clitics and Cliticization: The Interaction of Morphology, Phonology, and Syntax. New York Garland.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Legate, Julie Ann
    (2008): Warlpiri and the theory of second position clitics, Natural Language & Linguistic Theory(). 10.1007/s11049‑007‑9030‑0
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-007-9030-0 [Google Scholar]
  26. Marantz, Alec
    (1988): Clitics, Morphological Merger, and the mapping to phonological structure. In: M. Hammond & M. Noonan, eds., Theoretical morphology. San Diego: Brill Academic Press, pp.–. 10.1163/9789004454101_017
    https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004454101_017 [Google Scholar]
  27. Merchant, Jason
    (2001): The syntax of silence: Sluicing, Islands and the Theory of Ellipsis. Oxford University Press. 10.1093/oso/9780199243730.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199243730.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  28. Migdalski, Krzysztof
    (2006): The Syntax of Compound Tenses in Slavic. PhD thesis, Tillburg University.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Miller, Philip
    (1991): Edge Inflection on the French NP. In: Proceedings of the 27th meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. (1992): Clitics and Constituents In Phrase Structure Grammar. PhD thesis, University of Utrecht.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Nikolaeva, Irina & Maria Tolskaya
    (2001): A grammar of Udihe. Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110849035
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110849035 [Google Scholar]
  32. Nikolaeva, Irina, Elena Perekhvalskaya & Maria Tolskaya
    (2002): Udihe folk tales. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Salzmann, Martin
    (2012): A derivational ellipsis approach to ATB-movement, The Linguistic Review(), –. 10.1515/tlr‑2012‑0015
    https://doi.org/10.1515/tlr-2012-0015 [Google Scholar]
  34. Schwarzer, Luise
    (2022): Determiner Sharing in German — An Argument for Movement-Based Approaches to Ellipsis. PhD thesis, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Spencer, Andrew & Ana Luı́s
    (2012): Clitics. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139033763
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139033763 [Google Scholar]
  36. Stegen, Oliver
    (2011): In quest of a vernacular writing style for the Rangi of Tanzania: Assumptions, processes, challenges. PhD thesis, University of Edingburgh.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. van den Berg, Helma
    (2004): Coordinating constructions in Daghestanian languages. In: M. Haspelmath, ed., Coordinating Constructions. John Benjamins, pp.–. 10.1075/tsl.58.12ber
    https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.58.12ber [Google Scholar]
  38. Weisser, Philipp
    (2023): A two-step clitic placement algorithm in Khwarshi: Second Position placement as a repair for failed head-anchoring. In: S.-Y. Lam & S. Ozaki, eds., Proceedings of NELS 53. pp. –.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. (2024): ‘A typology of Shifted Coordinators and what they tell us about clitics and their formal modelling’. Habilitation Thesis: Universität Leipzig.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. (2025): Alternations between second and final position of conjunctions and a general theory of second position placement. In: D. Demiray, R. Liu & N. Segal, eds., Proceedings of NELS 55 (Yale).
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/lv.25002.wei
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/lv.25002.wei
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: clitics ; coordinators ; second position ; postsyntactic dislocation
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error