Dative antecedents for reflexives and pronouns

Authors:

• Jacek Witkoś,
• Paulina Łęska

Abstract

AbstractThis paper aims to advance a comprehensive theory of binding, which can account for all binding patterns found in Polish, some of which are particularly puzzling for traditional and novel formulations of Binding Theory. Namely, Polish reflexive pronouns/possessives are typically (nominative) subject oriented but they can also have dative Object Experiencers, OEs, as antecedents. Yet, OEs are also appropriate local antecedents for pronominal possessives. Our analysis explains the complementarity of pronouns and reflexives and lack thereof by assuming that the Spell-out form of the reflexive/pronoun is determined by its covert movement, while a binding dependency is established via Agree for [var(iable):_] feature.