On the Typology of Donkeys: Two Types of Anaphora Resolution

Authors

  • Pritty Patel-Grosz
  • Patrick Grosz

Abstract

This paper argues that there are two types of donkey pronouns cross-linguistically: donkey pronouns that require an overt NP antecedent and donkey pronouns that do not require such an antecedent. We argue (in section 2) that English donkey pronouns do not categorically require an overt NP antecedent; in contrast, they are subject to licensing conditions very much like referential pronouns. On the other hand, languages with richer pronominal systems, such as German and Kutchi Gujarati, have both donkey pronouns that require an overt NP antecedent and donkey pronouns without such a requirement (section 3). We propose that the difference is structural: donkey pronouns that require an overt NP antecedent contain an empty NP site that needs to be licensed, whereas pronouns without this requirement do not contain such a site (section 4).

Downloads

How to Cite

Patel-Grosz, P., & Grosz, P. (2019). On the Typology of Donkeys: Two Types of Anaphora Resolution. Proceedings of Sinn Und Bedeutung, 14, 339–355. Retrieved from https://ojs.ub.uni-konstanz.de/sub/index.php/sub/article/view/476