Multiple exponence in Finno-Ugric personal pronouns
Mariia Privizentseva (University of Leipzig)
29.04.2024, 14:15–15:45
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 (Hauptgebäude), F 007
This paper presents a study of personal pronouns in Finno-Ugric languages. Personal pronouns in these languages show a curious phenomenon of possessive exponents that duplicate φ-features of the pronominal root; see täm-dä-m ‘you-2PL-ACC’ vs. mäm-nä-m ‘we-1PL-ACC’ from Hill Mari. While such duplication is attested in a vast majority of Uralic languages (see Kiss & Mus 2022), it does not apply to all pronominal forms. Investigating the distribution of possessive exponence within pronominal paradigms, I show that there are correlations between the markedness of a form and the presence of a possessive marker. I then argue that such distribution presents an argument against existing syntactic approaches to the phenomenon (see Asbury 2008, Dek ́ any 2018, and Burukina 2023). I suggest that the pattern instantiates ́ partially superfluous extended exponence and requires a morphological analysis. Finally, I show
that the data are straightforwardly derived under the harmonic serialist approach to inflectional morphology by employing the MINSAT constraint proposed in Müller (2020); the observable variation within Uralic can be accounted for by invoking harmonic alignment of scales and subsequent constraint conjunction, as proposed by Aissen (1999; 2003).