Imanishi 2014 — Default Ergative @cite{imanishi-2014} #

@cite{imanishi-2014} (MIT PhD dissertation, advisor: David Pesetsky) addresses an alignment puzzle in non-perfective Mayan: Chol and Q'anjob'al show extended-ergative alignment (S/A → ERG, P → ABS), but Kaqchikel shows an inverted pattern in PROG ajin constructions (S/A → ABS, P → ERG/GEN). The published successor @cite{imanishi-2020} parameterizes the same data through inherent vs structural Case; the dissertation derives both sides from a single mechanism: the Unaccusative Requirement on Nominalization (URN).

This study file consumes the substrate primitives in Theories/Syntax/Case/Alignment.lean (Alignment.invertedErgative.assignCase, Alignment.ergative.assignCase) and Fragments/Mayan/Params.lean (caseKaqchikel, ergCaseKaqchikel, accCaseKaqchikel, caseChol, caseQanjobalan) and verifies that the substrate faithfully encodes Imanishi's analysis.

The Alignment Puzzle (@cite{imanishi-2014} §3.3, eqs. (87)-(88)) #

	S	O
Kaqchikel-type intransitive	ABS	—
Kaqchikel-type transitive	ABS	ERG
Chol/Q'anjob'al intransitive	ERG	—
Chol/Q'anjob'al transitive	ERG	ABS

Both are non-perfective (involve embedded nominalization), but Kaqchikel's ERG lands on OBJECT, not subject.

The Mechanism: URN (@cite{imanishi-2014} §3.3.1, eq. (90), p. 123) #

Unaccusative Requirement on Nominalization: Nominalized verbs must lack an external argument.

In Kaqchikel, the URN holds. Two consequences:

Subject base-generation outside (§3.3.1, p. 124): the external argument cannot appear inside the nominalized clause; it is base- generated as the argument of the embedding predicate (e.g., ajin PROG, chäp 'begin') in the matrix. From there it receives ABS from matrix Infl.
Object as highest Case-less DP (§3.3.1, p. 124): the nominalized verb cannot assign Case to the object. The object becomes the highest Case-less DP inside the nominalized clause when a phase triggers Spell-Out, and receives ergative Case from the phase head D — the "phase head ergative Case" of Imanishi's central thesis.

In Chol and Q'anjob'al, URN does NOT obligatorily apply (§3.3.3), so the external argument can stay inside the nominalized clause and receives ergative Case there directly.

Construction-specificity #

Imanishi's Kaqchikel data is restricted to PROG ajin and certain embedding-verb constructions (chäp 'begin'). Other aspects in Kaqchikel keep canonical ergative alignment (Imanishi 2014 Table 3.1, p. 95). The fragment substrate caseKaqchikel matches: only .Prog triggers the inverted pattern; .Perf, .Imp, .Prosp, .Hab, .Iter keep canonical ergative.

Dialectal variation (@cite{imanishi-2014} fn. 26, p. 141) #

Imanishi notes: "My Kaqchikel consultants do not accept nominalized patterns as in (120). This is presumably because of dialectal differences." Some Kaqchikel varieties documented by @cite{garcia-matzar-rodriguez-guajan-1997} show patterns Imanishi's consultants don't accept. The substrate's caseKaqchikel encodes Imanishi's variety; alternative-variety Lean fragments would need a different parameterization.