Abstract
This report documents grammatical patterns associated with Tsez finite clauses that combine with the quotative enclitic =ƛin. Based on the distributional properties of such finite clauses and their co-occurrence with different matrix verbs, I suggest that the marker =ƛin is structurally ambiguous between a genuine quotative marker, marking direct speech, and a complementizer, heading finite clauses. In the former function, =ƛin can be compared to English like, go or all. The quotative =ƛin does not impose restrictions on the word order of the embedded clause and is compatible with a large set of verbs, including but not limited to verbs of speaking, cognition, and propositional attitude predicates. As a complementizer heading finite clauses, the marker =ƛin appears on clauses that are strictly predicate-final and attaches directly to that predicate. When selected by propositional attitude verbs, the finite complement clause becomes the context in which the interpretation of pronouns can undergo indexical shift. The Tsez pattern of indexical shift is in many ways similar to patterns of indexical shift reported for other languages. However, the description of this pattern also adds a novel generalization to the growing body of knowledge about indexical shifts: in Tsez, the shifted interpretation is made obligatory if the embedded clause includes a long-distance reflexive. This usage is particularly striking given that the binder in the matrix clause and the bindee do not match in person.
Highlights
This report presents a description of embedded finite complements in Tsez (Dido, ddo; dido1241), a Nakh-‐Dagestanian language spoken primarily in the Tsunta district of Dagestan (Lewis et al 2014), with a particular emphasis on indexical shift
5 Conclusions This short report described the grammatical patterns associated with Tsez finite clauses that combine with the quotative enclitic =ƛin
Based on the distributional properties of such finite clauses and their co-‐occurrence with different matrix verbs, I suggested that the Tsez =ƛin is structurally ambiguous between a genuine quotative marker, marking direct speech, and a complementizer, heading finite clauses
Summary
This report presents a description of embedded finite complements in Tsez (Dido, ddo; dido1241), a Nakh-‐Dagestanian language spoken primarily in the Tsunta district of Dagestan (Lewis et al 2014), with a particular emphasis on indexical shift. The enclitic serves two distinct functions: (i) marking genuine complementation, as a complementizer introducing a finite clausal complement (FCC below); and (ii) introducing quoted direct speech (DQ) Unambiguous embedding predicates such as ‘forget’ and ‘want’ require strict verb-‐final word order in their embedded clauses, consistent with the word order of all other Tsez embeddings (see Comrie and Polinsky 1999 on relative clauses, Polinsky and Potsdam 2001 on nominalized complements, and Polinsky and Potsdam 2002 on infinitival clauses). Let me postpone the answer to this question—as I show below, this answer can be obtained, but only on the basis of yet another, more complex diagnostic distinguishing FCC and DQ (and the two functions of =ƛin) This diagnostic stems from the phenomenon of indexical shift, which I examine below
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