The Person Case Constraint

We propose a theory of the person restrictions in clitic double object constructions, a phenomenon known as the Person Case Constraint (PCC). In our proposal, the PCC is concerned with the encoding of perspective, and is, as such, a syntax-semantics interface phenomenon. A phase-based Person-Constraint, triggered by an interpretable person feature on the Applicative head, is responsible for the grammatical marking of the indirect object as a point-of-view center. Variation in the values of the interpretable person feature are shown to have counterparts in logophoric roles. The Person-Constraint has several clauses, which are subject to parametric variation, and which account for the range of cross-linguistic variation in PCC effects. The clauses of the P-Constraint are regulated by a theory of markedness, making predictions about how widely attested and robust the different types of PCC grammars are.