Morphological variation in Cree * inflection Eun Bi Kang University of Manitoba This paper discusses two cases of morphological variation found in the conjunct order verb inflection of Cree dialects. The first half of the paper examines the distribution of the reflexes of the Pre-Cree plural markers *-ik and *-wa:w among the Western Cree dialects. Syntactic and crosslinguistic evidence suggests that the distribution of these markers is influenced by morphological dissimilation. The second half of the paper examines the patterning of three obviative markers, the reflexes of Pre-Cree *-ah, *-im and *-ri. The reflexes of *-ah are concluded to be general obviative markers while *-im and *-ri are found to serve more specific functions that vary depending on the dialect. 1 Introduction This paper is concerned with two instances of variation in the conjunct order of verb inflection across Cree dialects: (1) the alternation of two different third person plural markers and (2) the existence of three distinct obviative markers. It will be shown that the patterning of the plural markers results from morphological dissimilation while each of the three obviative markers serves a slightly different function. After some background on important concepts in Algonquian linguistics (§2), section 3 presents an analysis of the distribution of reflexes of the Pre-Cree plural markers *-ik and *-wa:w, specifically focusing on the Plains, Swampy, Moose and Atikamekw dialects of Cree (henceforth collectively referred to as the Western Cree dialects). I will argue that the factors conditioning the distribution of these morphemes involve their syntactic positions along the clausal spine (§3.1) and the grammatical features they carry (§3.2). In section 3.2, crosslinguistic data from Spanish and Basque will be used to argue that the inability of the reflexes of *-ik and *-wa:w in the Western Cree dialects to co-occur is a result of morphological dissimilation implemented through a process of “obliteration” (Arregi & Nevins, 2006). Section 3.3 discusses the nature of grammatical person and number in Cree and the implications highlighted by the proposed analysis of the reflexes of *-ik and *-wa:w. Section 4 turns to the obviative markers. Section 4.1 addresses the lack of explicit obviative verb morphology in configurations in which one argument is proximate and the other is obviative. I will propose that Cree treats such configurations as “default” obviative configurations due to the presence of a proximate argument. In light of this, I will then propose that the reflexes of the Proto-Algonquian obviative suffix *- ah can be seen as a non-default configuration obviative marker. In section 4.2, I will propose that the reflexes of the Proto-Algonquian obviative markers *-im and *-ri serve as participant obviative markers, that is, that they agree with specific features possessed by the obviative argument. Although the distribution of these reflexes varies by dialect, I will approach the data by grouping the dialects according to what specific features their reflexes of *-im and *-ri agree for in section 4.3. Two groups emerge through this approach: one where the usage of the obviative markers is dependent on what appears to be a nominative- accusative alignment unique to obviative participants, while the other employs the obviative markers based on the obviative participant’s position on the Person Hierarchy relative to the other participant in the alignment. * I wish to thank Will Oxford for his invaluable guidance and feedback. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics (TWPL), Volume 39 © 2017 Eun Bi Kang EUN BI KANG In section 5, I will discuss the markedness of obviation by observing how obviative morphology seems to be exempt from rules that govern non-obviative morphology. In addition, I will compare the grammatical treatment of the obviative morphology discussed in section 4 and the pluralisers in section 3, showing that the former defy expectations given their low ranking on the Person Hierarchy. Finally, in section 6, I will conclude my paper by summarising my findings. 2 Background on Algonquian morphosyntax This section provides background on Algonquian morphosyntax that is relevant to the discussion in this paper: the distinction between independent and conjunct inflection (§2.1), the central and peripheral layers of agreement inflection (§2.2), the person hierarchy (§2.3), and obviation (§2.4). 2.1 Independent and conjunct orders Most Algonquian languages have two distinct yet parallel sets of verbal inflection known as the independent and conjunct orders. While both orders mark the same features, the shapes of the morphemes used in the two orders are generally different (Oxford, 2014: 8). The use of the two sets of inflection is determined by clause type: independent order morphology is generally found in main clauses while conjunct order morphology is generally used in subordinate clauses (Oxford, 2014: 8-9). This paper focuses on inflectional forms from the conjunct order. 2.2 Central and peripheral inflection Some of the morphology that appear on verbs (as well as nouns) can be identified as belonging to one of two slots: central inflection and peripheral inflection. Central inflection on Cree verbs in the independent order consists of a person prefix and a “central suffix”, which marks person and number, whereas peripheral inflection is composed of a single ending that is lexically specified for third person and can inflect for gender (animate/inanimate), number, and obviation for third persons only (Goddard, 1974: 318). Illustrative examples are given for Plains Cree in (1) below (Wolfart, 1973). Central morphemes are indicated by italicised text whereas peripheral inflection is underlined; morphemes that are neither italicised nor underlined do not belong to either category of inflection. All examples henceforth will be given in Plains Cree unless otherwise noted. A list of abbreviations can be found in the appendix at the end of the paper. (1) a. ni- pahpi -n 1- laugh -NON3 ‘I laugh’ b. ni- pahpi -na:n 1- laugh -1P ‘We (excl.) laugh’ c. nipa: -w -ak sleep -3 -3P ‘They sleep’ d. ni- wa:pam -a: -na:n -ak 1- see -DIR -1P -3P ‘We (excl.) see them’ 2 MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN THE CONJUNCT ORDER AMONG THE CREE DIALECTS Since (1a) and (1b) are intransitive sentences with only first person arguments, no peripheral inflection occurs. In (1c), the sole argument is a third person, so peripheral inflection appears, as well as a reduced form of third person central agreement (-w). In (1d) both central and peripheral inflection are present. In the conjunct order, peripheral inflection patterns the same as in the independent order, albeit with different phonological shapes. Central inflection in the conjunct order, on the other hand, consists solely of a single suffix that marks both person and number, illustrated in (2), entirely different from the prefix-suffix combinations that occur in the independent order: (2) wa:pam -a: -ya:hk -ik see -DIR -1P -3P ‘(that) we (excl.) see them’ The patterning of central and peripheral inflection can be roughly described as follows. When a verb has two arguments, central inflection agrees with the argument that is ranked higher on the Person Hierarchy while peripheral inflection agrees with the lower ranked participant (Oxford, 2014: 38). (The Person Hierarchy will be explained further in section 2.3 below.) This description holds for most Cree verb forms, but there are a few exceptional cases in which central inflection indexes both participants using a portmanteau agreement morpheme, such as the -ak suffix in (3): (3) wa:pam -Ø -ak -ik see -DIR -1S:3 -3P ‘(that) I see them’ The participants indexed by central and peripheral inflection are known as the “central participant” and “peripheral participant”, respectively (Goddard, 1974). It is important to note that the central and peripheral participants are not equivalent to the logical subject and object of any given sentence.1 Subject and object roles are instead indicated by a separate morpheme known as the theme sign: the direct theme sign aligns the role of subject with the central participant while the inverse theme sign aligns this role with the peripheral participant (Goddard, 1974: 319). The direct-inverse pattern is suspended, however, in many forms in which the logical object is first or second person, in which case the theme sign marks the person of the object rather than “direct” or “inverse”: (4) a. wa:pam -i -yan see -1OBJ -2S ‘(that) you (sg) see me’ b. wa:pam -is -k -ik see -2OBJ -3 -3P ‘(that) they see you (sg)’ Lastly, when discussing transitive verbs, it is convention among Algonquianists to represent the configuration of participants in the following format: φ1—φ2, where φ1 represents the person and number of the logical subject and φ2 represents the person and number of the logical object. For example, 3P—1S indicates a transitive configuration wherein the subject is animate third person plural and the object is first person singular. In this paper, I will be using φ1↔φ2 as a shorthand to indicate all transitive configurations that include the participants φ1 and φ2 regardless of their role. For example, 3↔3′ refers to all configurations 1 I use the terms “(logical) subject” and “(logical) object” to indicate the external and internal arguments of a transitive verb, respectively. 3 EUN BI KANG that include an animate third person participant as well as an animate obviative third person participant, such as the configurations 3S—3′, 3P—3′, 3′—3S and 3′—3P. 2.3 Person Hierarchy The direct-inverse alignment system is governed by a Person Hierarchy which ranks a verb’s arguments according to centrality in the discourse; the more central a participant is, the higher its rank. The Person Hierarchy is normally formulated as follows (Pentland, 1999: 235): (5) 1st/2nd > indefinite/passive > 3rd animate proximate > 3rd animate obviative > 3rd inanimate The Person Hierarchy is central to the proper functioning of the direct-inverse alignment system as it governs the designation of the central and peripheral participants as well as the selection of direct/inverse theme signs.