Constraints on nominative-case marking in te hosi constructions : A PIC account

Abstract

In te hosi constructions, the subject of an embedded propositi on may be marked either with dative -ni or nominative -ga . Shibatani (1978) observes that dative case-marki ng is semantically constrained, while nominative case-marking may occur freely. Under a close inspection of relevant data, however, it reveals that nominative case-marking also seems to be semantically constrained. Namely, nominative may not be assigned to [+agentive] subjects, but th e assignment is made possible once the [+agentive] subject is focalized. This fact about nominative c ase-marking poses a problem since Case marks the syntactic position that an argument occupies, not t he argument’s semantic property such as [agentive] or [focus]. This paper shows that the fact is give n a simple syntactic account with a new definition of phase-impenetrability condition (PIC). The suggeste d analysis also accounts for other phenomena observed in te hosi constructions. Areas of interest: te hosi constructions, nominative case-marking, phase-impenetrability condition