INDEFINITE REFLEXIVE CLITICS IN SLAVIC: POLISH AND SLOVENIAN

Abstract

In this paper, we argue that certain Slavic reflexive cliticsshould be analyzed asindefinite defective pronouns in both syntax and semantics,and we go on to identify syntactic and semantic parametric variation among reflexiveclitics in Slavic.Reflexive clitics that correspond to people representnominative indefinite pronounsin Polish and Slovenian, and accusative indefinite pronounsin all the Slavic languages, so there is syntactic variation among suchindefinites. In syntax, indefinite clitics stand for explicit arguments that are defectivebecause they contain a human feature and no gender, number, or person, and move torepair deficiency. In semantics, they contain human variables and quantifiersreminiscent of some, which can be deleted by existential disclosure. When quantifiersare deleted and adverbs bind indefinite clitics, such clitics may resemble everyone,many people, and few people. In constructions with datives, Slavic cliticsdisplay a complex web of semantic and syntactic variation due to dative existentialdisclosure in logical form. Dative existential disclosure combines quantifier deletionwith one of two operations binding datives to disclosed variables. In Polish and Slovenian,constructions with indefinite clitics and datives have the same syntax but differ intruth conditions because quantifiers are deleted, and datives bind disclosedvariables in one way in Polish and another way in Slovenian. In Czech and Bulgarian,dative existential disclosure affects reflexive clitics standing for implicitarguments with different syntactic properties. Thus, there is syntactic variation,with Polish and Slovenian forming one syntactic group and Bulgarian and Czech another.Variation extends to semantics, because the meaning of constructions with reflexiveclitics and datives is the same in Bulgarian and Slovenian, while Czech belongs tothe same semantic group as Polish.