Pronominal Clitics in Persian: A Distributed Morphology Approach

Abstract Persian independent pronouns can be considered as the head of noun phrases) Shaghaghi, 2015). However, the head of the noun phrase with a prepositional phrase (preposition + pronominal clitic) can be occupied by a pronominal clitic. To deal with this dual behavior, we adopt distributed morphology, developed by Halle & Marantz (1993), to analyze the internal structure of dependent pronouns or pronominal clitics. This research draws upon descriptive-analytical method, and the data come from Persian language. In this paper, theoretical arguments as well as linguistic evidence will be employed to examine the hypotheses. We suggest that the so-called “pronominal clitics” are actually different elements with different semantic features and structural relationships. Finally, we argue that the (M) index, as a secondary product of morphological merger (Merger) between the two heads, is supposed to be the distinctive element of the dependent pronouns, not of the independent pronouns. Keywords: Clitics, Distributed Morphology, pronominal clitics, Object agreement, Morphological merger Introduction The present paper intends to examine the nature of Persian pronominal clitics or dependent personal pronouns within the framework of distributed morphology. Independent personal pronouns can appear at the head position of a noun phrase. However, it is not true for their clitic forms unless their host be a preposition phrase, wherein that the pronominal clitics can function as the head of the noun phrase. This points to the underlying distinctions between dependent personal pronouns. The present research is grounded upon the very behaviors of pronouns and intends to describe the content features and internal structure of the dependent pronouns. Materials and methods In the framework of generative grammar, the intuition of native speakers is an important criterion to judge the well-formedness of sentences. It is thus understood that research into different structures of a language can be based on the intuition of a competent native speaker of the language in question. The data for analysis were collected based on the intuition of one of the co-authors which were then reviewed and confirmed by other members of the research team. In the next step, data obtained were analyzed for descriptive goals related to clitics in Persian language and were then explained on the basis of Distributed morphology framework. Distributed morphology is a post syntactic framework devel