Person splits in Romance: Implications for parameter theory

This contribution addresses person splits in which 1/2P and 3P, or 1P and 2P systematically differ from one another with respect to the core grammar properties of case and agreement, giving raise to parametric variation. We consider two case studies from Romance varieties. The first one concerns 1/2P object clitics which, in Italian like in other Romance languages, have a simplified morphology with respect to 3P clitics, namely a single gender- and case-neutral object form, as opposed to the accusative vs. dative distinction, and the gender distinctions found in 3P. Moreover, 1/2P clitics only optionally trigger perfect participle (v) agreement, otherwise obligatory with 3P accusative clitics. We argue that these behaviors correspond to a core syntax phenomenon, whereby 1/2P clitics trigger DOM, which in the Romance languages takes the form of obliquization. The fact that 1/2P clitics are DOM obliques explains their specialized behavior in comparison with 3P clitics. The second case study has to do with partial pro-drop patterns in Northern Italian dialects involving the 1P vs. 2P split, interacting with the Externalization process and the Recoverability principle. We show that the (micro)parameters regulating the distribution of subject clitics are best seen as a reflex of macrocategories of grammar. Finally, we compare our approach with the literature on these phenomena (Cardinaletti & Repetti 2008; Calabrese 2008) and with the ReCoS parametric theory of Ian Roberts and his collaborators, discussing their different explanatory capabilities and results.