Embedded C projecting an argument 

Parts of this research were presented at LSA95, NELS51, SICOGG22, CLS56.

Burukina, I. 2023. External merge to specifier of CP: Complementizers projecting an argument. Syntax. 26(1). 85--105. 

published version 

This paper challenges the standard assumption that no XP can be base-generated and thematically licensed in Spec,CP. I present novel data from control phenomena in Mari (Uralic) and argue that, in this language, a C head can introduce an overt argument externally merged in Spec,CP: the complementizer manən used in infinitival complement clauses projects a dative goal of communication. 

  SemBabble handout NELS51 handout 

Syntax and semantics of adjunct clauses

Parts of this research were presented at Olinco2023, DiGS24, FCTC workshop.

Burukina, I. 2023. Mood-approach vs P-approach to non-finite adjunct clauses. A talk presented at the Third international conference on adverbial clauses, Göttingen, October 5-6.  

slides

Burukina, I. 2023.  Deriving rationale clauses: Dative infinitives, embedded imperatives, and modality. A talk presented at the FCTC workshop, Graz, June 30.

FCTC slides

Burukina, I. 2023.  Deriving rationale clauses: infinitives and imperatives. To appear in Proceedings of Olinco 2023. 

The big question behind this project is how fully saturated propositional clauses can be used as modifiers. I examine rationale clauses in Mari (Uralic) focusing on the following puzzle: rationale infinitives appear to include a PP layer followed by a CP, thus violating the principles of categorial selection. I propose that the (dative) P is, in fact, an exponent of Mood at the clausal periphery that contains a special teleological modal. I then show that the Mood/ModRat and the dative P are spelled out the same way because of the historical link between the two (P-to-Mood reanalysis). I also discuss the rationale infinitives/imperatives alternation, attested in Mari, and try to figure out what the general nature of imperatives is. 

Overt subjects and agreement with infinitives

Parts of this research were presented at NELS52, SinFonIJA14, SICOGG23, WSUL.

Burukina, I. 2022. On dative subjects and agreement with infinitives licensed by an external P head. In Pratley Breanna (ed.), NELS 52: Proceedings of the Fifty-Second Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society, 105-118. Amherst, MA: GLSA.  

This project focuses on infinitival clauses in Mari (Uralic) that allow overt dative subjects and agreement on the infinitive. I propose that the presence of both dative subjects and AGR depends on the presence of a dative postpositional head P that takes some infinitival clauses as its complement. I explain the complex distribution of such constructions, and provide evidence against analyzing dative and AGR as resulting from an agreement relation established between the subject and the embedded T head. 

NELS52 paper (first version)  handout (most recent version) 

This is an ongoing project where I examine properties of various control verbs in Russian and correlations between the types of control, the types of complement clauses, and the modal "flavors". 

Parts of this research were presented at SinFonIJA15, FASL28, WCCFL36, GLOW41, FDSL12.5.

Burukina, I. 2023. Hidden epistemic modals: Decomposing ‘promise’. A talk presented at SinFonIJA 16.  

In this paper I provide evidence that the 'promise' verbs should be syntactically decomposed into SAY and an epistemic modal. 

Burukina, I. 2023. On the syntax of the Russian control verbs pomoč 'help' and pomešat’ 'hinder'.  Journal of Slavic Linguistics 32(2): 157-194.

In this paper I show that the verbs pomoč 'help' and pomešat’ 'hinder' have quite unusual syntactic properties. I propose that these predicates are, in essence, ditransitive, similarly to ‘give’ or ‘send’:  they require a Goal (a person or a situation that will be helped/hindered) and a Theme headed by a silent noun HELP/HINDRANCE.  A controlled infinitival clause, when present, is merged as a modifier within the Theme NP. 

lingbuzz

Burukina, I. 2021. Licensing of DP/PRO embedded subjects in Russian. Journal of Slavic Linguistics 29.

This paper shows that and explains why in Russian evaluative adjectival predicatives, such as važno 'important, can embed non-finite clauses with controlled (PRO) or referentially independent (overt DP) subjects. 

published version 

Burukina, I. 2020. Mandative verbs and deontic modals in Russian: Between obligatory control and overt embedded subjects. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics 5 (1), 54.

This paper shows that, in Russian, sentences with a verb of order/permission or a deontic modal and an embedded infinitival clause involve either obligatory control or ECM-type licensing of an overt embedded subject. I provide a formal account for this, whereby overt embedded subjects are assigned Case by a matrix applicative head, which usually introduces an obligation holder. I further argue that verbs of order/permission should be analyzed as lexical realizations of a verb of communication that embeds a silent deontic modal head. 

published version

Burukina, I. 2020. Object control: hidden modals. In Advances in Formal Slavic Linguistics 2017, 1-14. Marušič, Franc, Mišmaš, Petra, & Žaucer, Rok (eds). Berlin: Language Science Press.

published version

Burukina, I. 2017. On the possibility of subject raising in Russian. In Typology of Morphosyntactic Parameters, vol. 4. 34-45. Moscow. (in Russian)

preprint

Burukina, I. 2019. "Raising and control in non-finite clausal complementation". Doctoral dissertation (available on request)

Antipassive voice and split vP-VoiceP

Parts of this research will be presented at NELS54, NOCroDeP workshop. 

[In collaboration with Maria Polinsky] In this project we examine the status of implicit objects in the antipassive-like constructions in Kaqchikel. We show that (1) the implicit objects in Agent Focus clauses are structurally present covert pronominals (pro), (2) the implicit objects in so-called null antipassive clauses are not syntactically and semantically projected at all but merely entailed. We then propose a split vP-VoiceP analysis to account for this difference . We develop a novel inventory of v and Voice heads, where only v heads can introduce a new thematic role but the function of Voice heads is merely syntactic -- to manipulate a pre-existing thematic relation. 

Burukina, I. and Maria Polinsky. 2023. Antipassives and verbal projections, Ms. 

workshop handout

Patterns of deverbal nominalization 

Parts of this research were presented at AIMM5, ISMo. 

Burukina, I.S., Burukina, I.P. 2022. Вопросы отглагольной номинализации в языке какчикель [Patterns of deverbal nominalization in Kaqchikel]. Voprosy Jazykoznanija 6: 62-80. [first author = Burukina I.S.]

published version 

Burukina, I. 2021. Two ways to nominalize in Kaqchikel, Ms.

In this project I examine the patterns of deverbal nominalization in Kaqchikel (Mayan), focusing on result and event nominals, and I account for their morphosyntactic and semantic properties. I also suggest that Kaqchikel allows nominalizer stacking (i.e. using several nominalizing heads in one derivation).

ISMo handout 

Result nominals and perfect

Parts of this research were presented at WCCFL40, WSCLA25. 

Burukina, I. 2023. A nominalization analysis of the Kaqchikel periphrastic perfect, Ms. 

This paper examines a perfect construction in Kaqchikel (Mayan). I show that perfect in Kaqchikel is periphrastic: it involves non-verbal predication with a result noun used as the predicate and should be literally translated as ‘x is [result/product of someone’s V-ing]’. I also discuss the various ways Agents can be introduced in deverbal result nominals. 

Burukina, I. 2022. A result nominalization analysis of the Kaqchikel periphrastic perfect.  To appear in WCCFL40 proceedings. 

latest slides

Complex event nominals and the status of the arguments 

Parts of this research were presented at LSA95 and CLS56 [with Alexandra Kubatieva], WSCLA24, WCCFL36. 

Burukina, I. 2021. Control in mixed nominals: Nominalization in Kaqchikel revisited, Ms.

Burukina, I. 2023. Nominalized antipassive constructions in Kaqchikel. In Proceedings of Workshop on the Structure and Constituency of the Languages of the Americas 24, 15-29. D. K. E. Reisinger & Hannah Green (eds). Vancouver, BC: UBCWPL. 

published version 

Burukina, I. 2021. On the nature of arguments in event nominals. In Proceedings from LSA 2021 meeting 6(1): 996-1008.

published version 

Reflexive voice and predication

Burukina, I. 2019. Reflexive functional head, verbal and nominal predicates. In Proceedings of the 36th West Coast Conference of Formal Linguistics, 91-98. Richard Stockwell, Maura O'Leary, Zhongshi Xu, & Z.L. Zhou (eds). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

published version

Non-verbal predication and specification in Kaqchikel 

  The research was presented at the Workshop on Copular Sentences (2022).

Burukina, I. 2022. Asymmetric predication and symmetric specification in Kaqchikel, Ms. 

handout 

Éto copular constructions in Russian

Parts of this research were presented at FDSL14, SLS15, FASL30 [with Lena Borise and Marcel den Dikken].

Burukina, I., Lena Borise, and Marcel den Dikken. 2024. Èto – èto predikativizator: a ‘big DP’ analysis of Russian copular constructions, Ms. 

Éto-focus and to-topic sentences in Russian

Parts of this research were presented at SICOGG22, FASL29  [with Marcel den Dikken].

Burukina, I. and Marcel den Dikken. 2021. Elliptical question-answer pairs in the syntax of Russian éto-focus and to-topic sentences, Ms. 

handout SICOGG22 paper

The research was presented at FASL31, Össznyelvész Konferencia.

Burukina, I. 2023. Restricting person in comitative conjunction. To appear in Journal of Slavic Linguistics.

Postpositional phrases  in Mari

Burukina, I. 2023.  On the syntax of postpositional phrases in Mari: Choosing between two structures . Journal of Uralic Linguistics 2(2): 158-193.

published version  lingbuzz (preprint)

In this project I propose that PPs in Mari may have one of the following two underlying structures. PPs with a pronominal dependent involve possession between the Ground and a LOCATION nominal. In PPs with a non-pronominal dependent the Ground is merged directly into the complement position of a P head. I further show that the two configurations capture successfully the distribution of reflexive pronouns in PPs. 

Burukina, I. 2021. Profile of reflexives in Hill Mari. Folia Linguistica 55(1): 127-162. 

published version 

Burukina, I. 2018. Semantika i sintaksis intensifikatora ške v gornomarijskom jazyke [Semantic and syntactic properties of intensifier ške in Hill Mari]. In Malye jazyki v bol’šoj lingvistike: sbornik [Small languages in big linguistics: proceedings]. 29-34. Ksenia Semyonova (ed.). Moscow: Buki Vedi. (in Russian)

published version

Burukina, I. 2017. Personal pronouns instead of reflexives and intensifiers: a puzzle from Kabardian. Talk at the Debrecen workshop on pronouns. 

slides