The subject clitics of Chipaya: A pragmatic approach

• Applicant: Dr. Katja Hannß
• Subject Area: General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages
• Term: from 2017 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 370858026

The proposed project will be concerned with the pragmatic and syntactic distribution of the Chipaya subject clitics. Chipaya is a language isolate of Bolivia, spoken only by approximately 1,800 speakers. The Chipaya subject clitics are special clitics and not obligatory. Chipaya has two types of clitic constructions: (1) clitic doubling in which the subject clitic occurs with a co-referential subject noun or pronoun; (2) single clitics without a co-referential subject noun or pronoun. The applicant distinguishes between lexical and anaphoric doubling: in lexical doubling, the doubled subject is represented by a lexical noun phrase, while in anaphoric doubling, the subject is a pronoun. Clitic doubling with first and second person subject referents is anaphoric. Third person subject referents are expressed by either a noun or a pronoun. Here, one has to distinguish between lexical and anaphoric doubling. In Chipaya, a subject referent (other than a first person singular and plural exclusive) is cross-referenced on the verb only in some tenses. A single clitic may thus be the only means to index the subject referent. The syntactic behaviour of the Chipaya subject clitics is unclear. Cerrón-Palomino (2006: 172-175) suggests analysing the Chipaya subject clitics as 'floating' and 'focalising' their host. The author also states that the subject clitics can attach to the subject pronoun. In contrast, the applicant finds that the subject clitics appear to have -at least partly- fixed positions. Moreover, the subject clitics of a first and second person never follow the subject pronoun. In general, the pragmatic and syntactic use of the Chipaya subject clitics is not well understood. Accordingly, it is the aim of the proposed study to investigate the pragmatic and syntactic distribution of the Chipaya subject clitics in detail. It is hypothesised that the pragmatic distribution of the Chipaya subject clitics relates to activation and identifiability of the subject referent. With respect to the syntactic distribution, the applicant suggests that the Chipaya subject clitics follow the negation particle in negative clauses. In non-negative clauses, the subject clitics of a first and second person attach to the object argument as a default, while the subject clitics of a third person follow the subject argument. These hypotheses are to be tested in the proposed project. The pragmatic distribution will be investigated with reference to the terms of 'activation' and 'identifiability', employing the factor of '[r]eferential distance'. Brand-new subject referents will be examined with respect to definiteness and specificity. The applicant will investigate whether the Chipaya subject clitics occur preferably in those tenses that do not cross-reference a subject other than a first person singular and plural exclusive on the verb. The investigation of the syntactic distribution will consider the clitic construction itself, the host and the sentence type.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants