Title:
The Person Case Constraint: A Reconceptualization

Abstract: 

We propose a theory of the person restrictions in clitic double object constructions, a phenomenon known as the Person Case Constraint (PCC). In our proposal, the PCC is concerned with the grammatical encoding of perspective, and is, as such, a syntax-semantics interface phenomenon, rather than a phenomenon of narrow syntax, as generally accepted. The central idea is that an interpretable person feature on the Applicative head is responsible for the grammatical marking of the indirect object as a perspective center. The interpretable person feature triggers a Person Constraint with several clauses, which are subject to parametric variation, and which account for the range of cross-linguistic variation in PCC effects. We suggest that the Person-Constraint is also active in direct/inverse systems, which allows us to offer a unified analysis of person-sensitivity across different structural domains in different languages. We further point out some formal parallels in the grammatical marking of perspective with respect to the participant and temporal parameters of events.