Docs / Studies / Studies.HammerlyMathieu2026

Linking Agreement and Movement: A Case Study of Long-Distance Agreement in Border Lakes Ojibwe

Hammerly, C. & Mathieu, É. (2026). Linguistic Inquiry, 57(4), 815–840

A matrix verb in Border Lakes Ojibwe agrees with the embedded argument in Spec,CP, and probes on Voice, Infl and C with conditions on agreement and on movement decide which argument gets there. Plain Voice moves a local patient into a second specifier, making the arguments equidistant, and C's φ ∨ δ probe moves the one bearing δ, by Best Match.

Main definitions

HammerlyMathieu2026.probeStep: a head's Agree and movement on the syntactic object it heads.
HammerlyMathieu2026.target: the argument C's probe moves to Spec,CP.

Implementation notes

The clause is a linearized syntactic object, closeness the maximal projections above a position, and movement Internal Merge replayed on it; arguments are nominal leaves. The rows are coded as Glottolog's Rainy River Ojibwa, the dialect around Fort Frances, where the speakers consulted are from.

TODO

Theme signs and impoverishment; agent LDA without Voice's [PART] probe (section 4); fn. 6.

References

Hammerly & Mathieu 2026, Linking Agreement and Movement: A Case Study of Long-Distance Agreement in Border Lakes Ojibwe
Oxford 2019, Inverse marking and Multiple Agree in Algonquin
Oxford 2023, A tale of two inverses
LeSourd 2019, Raising and long-distance agreement in Passamaquoddy: A unified analysis
Deal 2024, Interaction, Satisfaction, and the PCC formalized

Features, section 3.1

The probes, section 3.2

The clause as a syntactic object, section 3

The derivations (26) to (30), with no δ

L300–301

Voice Agrees with the obviative patient and leaves it in place, and Infl Agrees with the proximate agent and moves it.

theorem derivation_26(26)L303–311

Built from , , , , , , ,

L314–321

L324–331

L334–339

Voice moves the first person patient into a second specifier, and Infl moves neither argument.

theorem derivation_30(30)L341–347

(voiceP Voice.plain { ea := bare PhiFeature.prox, ia := bare PhiFeature.part }).obj = {↑patient, {↑agent, {↑voiceHead, {Minimalist.LinearizedSyntacticObject.traceOf patient, ↑stem}}}} ∧ (inflP Voice.plain { ea := bare PhiFeature.prox, ia := bare PhiFeature.part }).moved = none

Built from , , , , , ,

L349–352

The pattern (19)

(19a-i): with a proximate agent and an obviative patient, LDA targets the agent, wherever δ is.

theorem target_direct L356–359

(δe δi : Bool) :

target cEpp (clause PhiFeature.prox PhiFeature.anim δe δi) = some Role.ea

Built from , ,

(19a-ii): in the deep inverse LDA targets the proximate patient, wherever δ is.

theorem target_inverse L361–363

(δe δi : Bool) :

target cEpp (clause PhiFeature.anim PhiFeature.prox δe δi) = some Role.ia

Built from , ,

Between local persons LDA can target either argument.

theorem canTarget_local(19b)L365–368

(r : Role) :

CanTarget cEpp PhiFeature.part PhiFeature.addr r ∧ CanTarget cEpp PhiFeature.addr PhiFeature.part r

Built from , ,

(19c-i): a local agent acting on a proximate patient is the only possible target.

theorem canTarget_localAgent L370–373

(ea : PhiFeature) :

PhiFeature.part ≤ ea → ∀ (r : Role), CanTarget cEpp ea PhiFeature.prox r ↔ r = Role.ea

Built from , , ,

(19c-ii): a proximate agent acting on a local patient leaves LDA free.

theorem canTarget_localPatient L375–377

(ia : PhiFeature) :

PhiFeature.part ≤ ia → ∀ (r : Role), CanTarget cEpp PhiFeature.prox ia r

Built from , , ,

L379–381

L384–388

With plain Voice the deep inverse yields the same target and order: Infl skips the obviative agent, which lacks [PROX], and moves the patient. So LDA does not need ergative Voice; its theme sign does, since plain Voice copies the patient's features.

theorem target_inverse_plain L390–397

(δe δi : Bool) :