Sensible Planning: Focusing Perce

Cyclicity and connectivity in Nez Perce relative clauses

This paper studies two aspects of movement in relative clauses, focusing on evidence from Nez Perce. First, I argue that relativization involves cyclic A’ movement, even in monoclausal relatives: the relative operator moves to Spec,CP via an intermediate position in an A’ outer specifier of TP. The core arguments draw on word order, complementizer choice, and a pattern of case attraction for re...

Ejectives in Nez Perce

This paper discusses ejectives in Nez Perce, a Penutian language spoken in western Idaho, northeastern Oregon and eastern Washington. Using words collected in carrier phrases, VOT, burst amplitude, f0, intensity, and jitter are analyzed to provide a description of ejectives in Nez Perce. Kingston (1985, 2005) proposed a stiff/slack dichotomy for ejectives, however, researchers (Wright et al. 20...

Contrast and Phonological Activity in Nez Perce Contrast and Phonological Activity in the Nez Perce Vowel System

0. Introduction Features which pattern as inert with respect to phonological processes are often unnecessary in distinguishing segments in an inventory. The relationship between phonological activity and contrastiveness has been modeled in theories of underspecification (e.g. Archangeli 1984, Steriade 1987). However, there is no consensus on how to determine which features are contrastive. The ...

A cooperative effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nez Perce Tribe, the

Ergative case and the transitive subject: a view from Nez Perce

Ergative case, the special case of transitive subjects, raises questions not only for the theory of case but also for theories of subjecthood and transitivity. This paper analyzes the case system of Nez Perce, a ”three-way ergative” language, with an eye towards a formalization of the category of transitive subject. I show that it is object agreement that is determinative of transitivity, and h...