On PERSON, animacy, and copular agreement in Czech

Abstract

This chapter provides novel empirical evidence from agreement in Czech copular clauses that the [+PERSON] feature is dependent on animacy (Adger and Harbour 2007, Nevins 2007, a.o.). The core evidence comes from agreement with φ‎-feature-deficient pronouns. It is argued that agreement with φ‎-feature-deficient pronouns yields a Multiple Agree configuration (Hiraiwa 2005). Strikingly, the interpretation of such a pronoun is restricted by all φ‎-features present in the Multiple Agree chain. Thus if a φ‎-feature-deficient pronoun with an unvalued PERSON feature enters a Multiple-Agree chain with valued φ‎-features, including a valued PERSON feature, then the PERSON feature restricts the interpretation of the antecedent of the pronoun. Crucially, this happens only if the pronoun gets valued as [+PERSON]. It is argued that this is because [+PERSON] pronouns have φ‎-feature valuation restricted by GENDER presuppositions associated with animate referents (Heim 2008, Sudo 2012, a.o.).