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Problems for the Pronominal Argument Hypothesis in Maliseet-Passamaquoddy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2026

Philip S. LeSourd
Philip S. LeSourd*
Affiliation:
Indiana University
*
Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Student Building 130, 701 E. Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington, IN 47405-7100 [plesourd@indiana.edu]
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Abstract

According to the PRONOMINAL ARGUMENT HYPOTHESIS, the characteristic features of many so-called nonconfigurational languages may be accounted for on the assumption that affixes of verbs or auxiliaries in such languages either function as syntactic arguments or identify null pronouns that fill this role. Overt NPs then stand as adjuncts to clauses that are formally complete without them. Several studies have proposed analyses of Algonquian languages that incorporate versions of this hypothesis. This article explores data from several areas of the morphology and syntax of the Eastern Algonquian language Maliseet-Passamaquoddy that suggest that it is not such a pronominal argument language.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 82 , Issue 3 , September 2006 , pp. 486 - 514
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Linguistic Society of America

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