Impersonals, passives, and impersonal pronouns: Lessons from Lithuanian. (18th November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Šereikaitė, Milena
• Is Part Of: Syntax. Volume 25:Number 2(2022)
• Page Start: 188
• Page End: 241
• Publication Date: 2021-11-18
• Subjects: case -- impersonal construction -- impersonal pronouns -- Lithuanian -- passive construction -- Voice; Grammar, Comparative and general -- Syntax -- Periodicals; 415
• DOI: 10.1111/synt.12224
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1368-0005

Abstract

Abstract: This study examines the properties of VoiceP and impersonal pronouns by contrasting two constructions in Lithuanian: the ‐ma / ‐ta impersonal and the canonical passive. I argue that, while these two constructions overlap morphologically, they are syntactically distinct. The ‐ma / ‐ta impersonal is related to the ‐no / ‐to construction in Polish and in Ukrainian. Although it patterns with the Ukrainian ‐no / ‐to passive in allowing an auxiliary, it behaves like an active VoiceP with a null projected initiator in a thematic‐subject position, a pattern found in the Polish ‐no / ‐to impersonal and other impersonals crosslinguistically. I show that the Lithuanian passive lacks a syntactically realized initiator and selects for a type of Voice without a specifier. I also analyze the properties of the impersonal pronoun of the ‐ma / ‐ta impersonal, demonstrating that it is a bare N that lacks inherently specified ɸ features (number, gender, and person) and has no case. This finding supports existing proposals that treat impersonal pronouns in different languages as defective.