The syntactic status of subject clitics: a problem from Venetan se-constructions

Abstract

This article reopens the discussion on the syntax of subject clitics (SCLs) in Venetan dialects, by providing a problematic piece of data and outlining its theoretical consequences. New evidence from se-constructions in Alto Polesine Venetan (APV) shows that SCLs resist a unitary categorisa- tion even within the same dialect group: in varieties closely related to APV, both preverbal lexical subjects and SCLs are ungrammatical in passive se-constructions and both are grammatical in mid- dle se-constructions (Pescarini 2018b), whereas in APV SCLs - but not preverbal lexical subjects - are always grammatical in both constructions. We argue that the different sensitivity to passive se shown by SCLs in the two sets of varieties strongly suggests that in the former case clitics move from a lower position in the vP, while in the latter case they are base generated in a functional projection in the TP: this is problematic for most theories of cliticisation, which only allow for one of these two options. We argue instead that both possibilities are attested in different varieties, despite their close resemblance. Ultimately, this work shows how se-constructions can function as a diagnostic for the movement/base-generation variable in subject clitics, and, more in general, how a theoretically in- formed test can explain surprising empirical observations. In sum, micro-variation in the dialects of Italy once more proves significant in assessing current linguistic theory