Binding in English and South Slavic and the Parameterized DP Hypothesis

Despić (2013) argues that Serbian binding data provide support for the Parameterized DP Hypothesis (e.g., Fukui 1988, Corver 1992, Zlatić 1997, Bošković 2003, 2005, 2008). His key claim is that the differences in binding possibilities observed between English and Serbian result from the presence of a DP layer in the former vs. its absence in the latter.¹ Apparent determiners in Serbian are claimed to be NP-adjoined elements (with category left unspecified).² In this squib, I show that Despić’s analysis makes incorrect predictions about Serbian and closely related Slavic languages: Bulgarian and Macedonian.

1 Binding Data and Despić’s Proposal

Despić (2011, 2013) observes that English and Serbian prenominal possessives differ in binding possibilities. English prenominal possessives (e.g., his, John’s) can be coreferential with an R-expression (1a) or a pronoun (1b) elsewhere in the clause, whereas their Serbian counterparts cannot (2a–b).³

(1)

  a. His_i father considers John_i highly intelligent.

  b. John_i’s father considers him_i highly intelligent. (Despić 2009:20, (3)–(4))

(2)

Following Kayne (1994), Despić (2011, 2013) assumes that specifiers are adjuncts and adopts the definition of c-command in (3), according to which phrases c-command out of the category they are adjoined to or are specifiers of.

(3) X c-commands Y iff X and Y are categories, X excludes Y and every category that dominates X dominates Y (X excludes Y if no segment of X dominates Y). (Despić 2011:28, (6))

To accommodate the facts in (1), which indicate that English possessives do not c-command out of their nominals, Despić (2011, 2013) follows Kayne (1994) and Szabolcsi (1983) and locates English possessives not in Spec,DP but in a Spec,PossP position within DP, as in (4) (adapted from Despić 2013:244, (9)).⁶

(4)

Here, his fails to c-command John owing to the presence of DP; hence, Principle C does not prevent their co-construal.

To accommodate the facts in (2), which suggest that Serbian possessives do c-command out of their nominals, Despić (2011, 2013) proposes the structure in (5), in which DP is absent and prenominal possessives are NP-adjoined.⁷

(5)

Without a superordinate DP node, the NP-adjoined prenominal possessive njegov ‘his’ c-commands out of the subject NP under (3). Principle C then prevents its co-construal with the R-expression Marka ‘Marko’ in VP.

In a further development of his proposal, Despić (2011) observes that coreferential interpretations of the relevant elements in Serbian remain unacceptable even if demonstratives or other agreeing⁸ determiners appear in the structure.

(6)

Since the italicized items do not interfere with the c-command relation between the prenominal possessive and the R-expression or pronoun, Despić (2011, 2013) takes them also to be NP-adjoined.⁹ The three boxed NP nodes in (7) count as instantiations of the same node. Hence, the two XPs adjoined to [_NP drug] c-command out of the subject.

(7)

Note that if ovaj ‘this’ were a D head instead of an adjunct, the relevant c-command relation between njegov ‘his’ and Marka ‘Marko’ would be disrupted by ovaj’s DP projection, incorrectly predicting coreferential readings to be possible (cf. (4)).

Despić (2011, 2013) notes that unlike agreeing determiners, non-agreeing¹⁰ quantifiers do disrupt the relevant c-command relations, making coreferential readings acceptable.

(8)

To account for this, Despić (2011:71) assumes that Serbian nonagreeing quantifiers project QP above NP and that the QP blocks the relevant c-command relation, as in (9).

(9)

To summarize, building on the binding data involving prenominal possessives in English and Serbian, Despić (2011, 2013) makes the following claims: (a) there is no DP projection in Serbian and (b) Serbian prenominal possessives (and agreeing determiners) are NP-adjoined.

2 Two Predictions

Despić’s (2011, 2013) account of binding with possessives makes two simple predictions that Despić does not discuss but that can be directly tested. First, the account predicts that Serbian possessive nominals, when further embedded within the subject...