[GLLaM] Polina Pleshak - The exponence of caseless NPs in Moksha
[GLLaM] Polina Pleshak - The exponence of caseless NPs in Moksha
I will discuss two sets of markers in the Uralic language Moksha. Traditional grammars refer to these as indefinite and definite declensions, however, I argue that it is not (in)definiteness that distinguishes the two, but the size of the nominal constituent involved. Showing that there is no one-to-one correspondence between the definiteness of a noun phrase and its marking, I argue that the definite declension is used to mark full DPs; these DPs have number distinctions and are visible to the agreement probe. On the other hand, the indefinite declension is the exponence of small nominals (NPs); they are underspecified for number, and lack features relevant for agreement.
The existence of a special marker for small nominals in Moksha supports the hypothesis that there can be nominal phrases of different sizes within one and the same language. The distribution of small nominals is also relevant for theories of case licensing within the nominal domain as well as for the discussion about the ban on co-occurrence of two DPs in close quarters.