Crossover Constructions

Abstract

Since Palauan pronouns have many of the properties that are considered definitional of syntactic variables, the question naturally arises as to what the behavior of these pronouns in crossover contexts might be. It turns out that their properties in these contexts are unusual. Palauan has the strong crossover effect, but in order to account for it, an intrinsic definition of variable must be adopted. Palauan has no weak crossover effects at all, once the influence of a precedence effect is factored out. In attempting to deal with these facts in the light of generative theory, it will become clear that the issues involved are not limited to crossover contexts. The discussion will therefore be extended to a larger range of anaphoric constructions.