On finite embedded clauses in Tuparí: their synchrony, diachrony, and typology

Abstract

Tuparí, an indigenous Brazilian language of the Tupían family, has innovated a highlyproductive finite embedded clause construction that retains the morphosyntactic hallmarks of matrix clauses – without any neutralization in tense or evidentiality. I offer a synchronic analysis of these finite embedded clauses and propose a specific grammaticalization pathway that can account for their diachronic emergence: the clausal nominalizer hè developed out of a homophonous third person pronoun, allowing for paratactic constructions to be reanalyzed as involving true subordination. Both functions of hè (as a pronoun and as a clausal nominalizer) remain in use today, giving rise to occasional ambiguity. An additional aim of this paper is to evaluate the Tuparí facts in light of the literature on the Final-over-Final Condition (FOFC), a proposed syntactic universal. I will show that the language’s embedded clauses are unexpected on the most restrictive formulation of FOFC (Holmberg 2000) but can be accommodated without issue once FOFC is restricted to apply within Extended Projections. Situating Tuparí in the broader FOFC typology allows for a more fine-grained understanding of the distribution of the categorial features [+nominal] and [+verbal] in the language’s syntax.