We ...with Anna: the Inclusory Plural Pronominal Construction in Finnish and Fenno-Swedish

Abstract

<p>This article provides a syntactic analysis of the inclusory plural pronominal construction in FennoSwedish and Finnish. In this construction, a plural pronoun has a singular reading: vi ...med Anna (literally “we ...with Anna”) means ‘Anna and I’. In addition to the plural pronoun, the construction includes a comitative PP. In both Fenno-Swedish and Finnish, the PP can be placed rather flexibly. This article discusses the resulting variety of outcomes and what they indicate about the syntactic nature of the construction. At the same time, the singular reading is unavailable in almost all scenarios including an expanded pronoun: vi lingvister ...med Anna (literally “we linguists ...with Anna”). Similar constructions can be found in several other languages, especially in the eastern parts of Europe which suggests it is an areal feature. The diversity of the acceptable syntactic compositions in Fenno-Swedish and Finnish seems to require an analysis that differs from previous analyses of other languages. Instead of a derivation involving movements, the study suggests that the analysis must employ an unvalued feature. In some compositions, the necessary movements would be far too complex for an appealing explanation.</p>