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The Encoding of Coincidence in Two-Copula Languages by Nicholas

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The Encoding of Coincidence in Two-Copula Languages by Nicholas UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The bearable lightness of being: the encoding of coincidence in two-copula languages by Nicholas Welch A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS CALGARY, ALBERTA AUGUST, 2012 © Nicholas Welch 2012 ii Abstract In this dissertation, I argue that a difference in merge structure accounts for the distributional differences found in the two copulas of , an Athapaskan language of the Northwest Territories, Canada; my major conclusions also apply to two other languages of the family, Navajo and Tsúùt'ínà. I claim that the stage-/individual- level distinction that distinguishes predicates formed by the two copulas is the result of Copula 1 projecting a light verb, v, while Copula 2 does not project v. This results in Copula 1 having semantic and syntactic properties that Copula 2 lacks: the former allows the merge of external arguments, both thematic (subject) and spatiotemporal, and the latter does not. Evidence for this analysis comes from the compatibility of Copula 1, but not Copula 2 with volitional and temporal readings, with case-marking on complements of some forms of Copula 1 but not Copula 2, and from lifetime effects on subjects, ambiguous with Copula 1 but not Copula 2. Additionally, I claim phenomenon, the obligatory realization of a number feature on animate subjects in Athapaskan languages. According to the analyses proposed here, all copulas are instantiations of a coincidence feature that enables predication by encoding a subsumption relationship between two arguments. I contend that t φ- feature agreement. Extrapolating from the theory of coincidence developed herein, the dissertation makes predictions about copula use in natural languages in general. It proposes that all copula distinctions originate from differences in merge structure, and adduces evidence to show that the predictions about possible copula types are attested in the languages of the world. iii Acknowledgements I ’ y b g k g b k; ’ probably impossible to thank everyone properly. To list everyone who helped me struggle through the process of writing and emerge sane at the end would be a dissertation in itself. To Elizabeth Ritter, my advisor, I owe an enormous debt. She has accomplished what I thought might prove impossible: she has taught me to enjoy doing syntactic theory. Her advice, when I got bogged down, as I often did, in y “g k y g ” k . I more than once from going mad, and I will always treasure it. She has always been more than generous with her time and her amazing expertise in her field. Thank you, Betsy! Many thanks also to the other members of my committee: Leslie Saxon introduced y y g , the most beautiful language on earth, and many new friends in the North; she served on my dissertation committee, read and re-read my drafts, and gave reams of thoughtful advice, while her eagle eye spotted every misplaced in my tran . , Leslie! Karsten Koch also read several drafts of the manuscript, made himself available whenever I had questions and offered comments that improved the work immensely. Hamida Demirdache served as my external examiner and followed up with another interview the week after the defence in order to go into the research questions more deeply with me. Nicole Wyatt, the fifth member of my defence committee, despite her protestations of not being a linguist, showed a keen understanding of the research and asked questions that have opened new lines of investigation for me in the future. iv Robert Murray served as neutral chair at my defence; beyond that, he has guided my interest in diachronic linguistics for the past four years, and helped support my work financially by offering me editorial work on the Journal of Germanic Linguistics. Marie-Louise Bouvier-White, Mary Siemens, Lianne Mantla, Mary Rose Sundberg and Lena Drygeese: you shared your lovely language with me, tolerated my mispronunciations and crazy sentences, and y . g ’ , y ha: ! g g y g b ’ , allowing me to q . Gū ɂá àg! Silvia María Chávez Morales and Zoe Martínez Sly, you helped me understand how copulas work in Spanish, and generously found time out of your own graduate work schedules in order to do fieldwork with me. Muchas gracias! The Department of Linguistics at the University of Calgary gave very generous financial support and provided an atmosphere that was always exciting and stimulating. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada supported me for two years with SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship 752-2010-2724; the Jacobs Research Funds, the Phillips Fund for Native American Research, and the University of Calgary Research Grants Committee supported my fieldwork in the Northwest Territories with research grants. To Keffyalew Gebregziabher, thanks for hours of stimulating discussions, for sharing my love for crunchy data, for teaching me the difference between good coffee and bad, and for terrific homemade injera. K y I’ b y -brother. v My parents, siblings, and friends tolerated my disappearance into this project with understanding and welcomed me back with warmth, despite the long gaps in communication. And of course, above all, always, Hong Yan and Jin Chen: You have given me love, laughter, support, and, above all, tolerance even when I drove you crazy. 给你足够的感 谢，这是不可能的，但我想继续尝试。 vi Dedication Philip Rabesca Nenats’edì elè. vii Table of contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Dedication ....................................................................................................................... vi Table of contents ............................................................................................................... vii List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................ x Chapter 1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Research question .................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Theoretical framework and underlying assumptions ............................................... 1 1.2.1. Nominal phrases: arguments or predicates? ......................................................... 2 1.2.2. Individual-level predicates ................................................................................... 6 1.3. The central puzzle and its solution ........................................................................... 7 1.4. Structure of the dissertation ..................................................................................... 7 1.5. Methodology .......................................................................................................... 12 1.5.1. Fieldwork ........................................................................................................... 13 1.5.2. Textual data ........................................................................................................ 14 1.5.3. Data from linguistic work .................................................................................. 15 1.5.4. Conventions in representing data ....................................................................... 15 1.6. Terminology ........................................................................................................... 16 1.6.1. Copulas .............................................................................................................. 16 1.6.2. Minimalism and Indigenous languages ............................................................. 18 Chapter 2. Coincidence: the theory and the setting ..................................................... 21 2.1. The theory of coincidence ...................................................................................... 21 2.1.1. The concept of coincidence ............................................................................... 21 2.1.2. Applications of coincidence in the literature ..................................................... 24 2.1.3. Copulas as markers of coincidence of identity .................................................. 40 2.1.4. Other encodings of coincidence ......................................................................... 44 2.2. ............................................................................................................. 45 2.2.1. .......................................................................... 49 2.2.2. vP and AgrNumP ................................................................................................ 51 2.2.3. AspP ................................................................................................................... 59 2.2.4. TP, ModP, and CP .............................................................................................. 60 2.3. Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 73 Chapter 3. : NP complements ........................................... 76 3.1. The paradox of interpretation ................................................................................. 77 3.2. Structure and interpretation ...................................................................................
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