The clitic se as a position filler in Spec,evtP

In this section I explore the function of the clitic se in the assume position sense in Spanish and contend that this element satisfies the selectional requirements of initP to have an initiator, which will appear as specifier of evtP in accordance with Ramchand’s (2018) distinction between the head introducing the external argument of the predicate and the head that introduces the initiating subeventuality (see also Harley 2013). I adopt Pujalte & Saab’s (2012) proposal that clitic insertion is a repair strategy applying in the PF branch whenever a required external argument has not been merged in the syntax.

Thus, rather than deleting or demoting an argument, the clitic’s function is to prevent the syntactic derivation from crashing when sent to the interfaces. I would like to propose that the rest of languages examined in this chapter that count with a similar element in the assume position sense – namely, French, Catalan, German, and Swedish – could be integrated in the same analysis. Being aware of the differences among these languages, I will not endeavor to deal with the peculiarities of the equivalent elements in the languages mentioned above.²² However, the discussion on the properties of the

22 As a matter of fact, the appearance of these pronouns may have an impact on auxiliary selection in the perfect (McFadden 2007). For example, reflexive verbs in German appear with have just like transitive verbs (i), whereas Italian selects be only when the reflexive clitic pronoun is used and, in turn, it selects have if a reflexive anaphor appears instead (ii). In addition, German (iii-iv) shows intra-linguistic variation in the realm of posture verbs since different dialects may select either have or be. See also Sorace (2000, 2004), Keller & Sorace (2003), and Kauffman (1995), among others, for further discussion of auxiliary selection in Romance and Germanic languages.

(i) a. Holger hat Gudrun verletzt (German)

Holger has Gudrun hurt ‘Holger has hurt Gudrun’

clitic se in Spanish in this construction should suffice to illustrate, at least, the properties of the equivalent elements in the mentioned Romance and Germanic languages.²³

b. Holger hat sich verletzt accompanied by an element similar to the clitic se, namely: Lithuanian (i), Latvian (ii), Bulgarian (iii), Armenian (iv), Serbo-Croatian (v), Azerbaijani (vi), Tatar (vii), and Fula (viii). The respective idiosyncrasies of these languages prevent me from extending the analysis to be presented here to them, however, such an analysis might be feasible in accord with the similarities in the argument structure and semantics of posture verbs.

The lexical entry proposed for Spanish sentar ‘sit’ in (27) renders a syntactic structure consisting of an initP, procP, and resP in both the assume position sense and the causative sense. Following the discussion in the previous sections on autocausativity, I put forward that the two senses differ fundamentally in the fact that the assume position sense contains two DPs that refer necessarily to the same entity, since this element is initiator, undergoer, and resultee of the event (28). By contrast, in the causative sense, the DPs possess disjoint reference: one of the arguments plays the role of initiator and the other argument assumes the roles of undergoer and resultee (29).

Therefore, both argument structures are identical except for the elements lodged at Spec,evtP.

(29) a. Ana sentó al niño en la silla Ana sat to.the child on the chair ‘Ana sat the child on the chair’

b.

The function of the clitic is that of a position filler in (28), specifically, it fills Spec,evtP.

On the one hand, it satisfies the requirement of initP to have a DP instantiating the role of initiator; on the other hand, its reference is determined to be identical with the reference-bearing DP below in the argument structure. I follow Pujalte & Saab (2012) and assume that if a transitive verb with a D feature lacks a specifier in the external argument position, it will lead to a crash in the PF branch, since the verb’s selectional requirements wouldn’t have been met. To repair the absence of a DP in the syntax, the clitic is inserted post-syntactically as a last-resort repair strategy in the PF branch to meet the D feature requirement of the head. The clitic that appears in this construction has expletive-like characteristics, since it enters the derivation with unvalued phi features that are later valued against a full-fledged DP in the structure through a probe-goal relation.²⁴

This operation is altogether unnecessary in English. The approach proposed here is in line with Ramchand’s (2008) appeal for a causativization approach to the detriment of a detransitivization analysis for English. This amounts to the existence of a null init head that is merged on top of the structure to introduce an initiational subeventuality that brings about the process subeventuality. In order to causativize, init cannot be specified in the lexical entry of the verb. The lexical entry of sit complies with

24 Pujalte & Saab (2012) define this type of clitic as a morphological one since it depends on the presence of a full-fledged element to value its features. In contrast to it, syntactic clitics are proper arguments inserted in the syntax.

this requisite (30). Thus, the assume position sense is derived in the syntax by the merging of an initP on top of a procP.

(30) sit: [proc]

By the same token, the causative sense in English will also require the insertion of a null initP. While this is not morphologically marked in English, some languages do mark the addition of a causative morpheme (cf. Ramchand (2008:82-89)). However, as was the case in Spanish, the assume position sense and causative sense will stand apart in that the elements lodged at the specifier positions in the assume position sense will all refer back to the same individual, while in the causative sense the undergoer-resultee will designate an individual different from the initiator. Further discussion of the properties of these senses in English is postponed until section 3.