Abstract: A subset of Mayan languages prohibit the extraction of subjects from transitive sentences, a phenomenon known as the Ergative Extraction Constraint (EEC) (Aissen 2017, Coon et al. 2021). One family of accounts connects the EEC to object raising: the object consistently raises above the subject in transitive sentences, which consequently blocks extraction of the subject (Campana 1992, Coon et al. 2014). A second family of accounts leaves the object in its canonical position, but ties the EEC to optimality; in short, a construction other than a regular transitive sentence is available in cases of subject extraction, and a ranking of constraints enforces the use of that construction (Stiebels 2006, Erlewine 2016). In this talk, we provide new evidence for the object raising approach. We show that object raising leads to a configuration in which the subject does not bind into the object, with important repercussions for the distribution of coreferential nominals in Mayan languages that exhibit the EEC.
MULL-Lab, 10/26 – Jessica Coon and Justin Royer
MULL-Lab will be meeting Tuesday, October 26, at 4:30pm. Jessica Coon and Justin Royer will be presenting their paper titled Object raising bleeds binding: A new correlate of high-absolutive syntax in Mayan (see abstract below). If you have not registered for MULL-Lab but would like to attend, you can register here.