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Article published In: Studies in Language
Vol. 45:2 (2021) ► pp.384–407

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Kokborok and the simple-complex reflexive distinction

 | IIT Madras
 | University of Delhi | University of Hyderabad
 | IIT Madras
ORCiD logo with link | Utrecht University
Published online: 19 October 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.19091.roy
Abstract
This paper presents an in-depth investigation of the binding strategies in Kokborok and we will look more specifically how this sheds light on the theories of reflexivization. Kokborok, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Tripura, a state in the North-East of India, has two reflexives: sak sak ‘self self’ and sak baithaŋ ‘self self’. The form sak sak ‘self self’ conforms to Principle A of classic Binding Theory, blocking long-distance binding, but this does not hold true for sak baithaŋ allowing non-local binding. It is a well-established fact that some reflexives allow non-local binding, but it is generally assumed that this phenomenon is limited to a certain type of reflexive, morpho-syntactically ‘simple reflexives.’ The so-called ‘complex reflexives’ generally bar non-local binding, and the Kokborok reflexive sak baithaŋ seems an exception to that. This paper explores the uniqueness involved in the nature of anaphoric binding in Kokborok.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Reflexives in South Asian languages
    • 2.1The two types of nominal reflexives
    • 2.2Distribution of simple and complex reflexives in SALs
  • 3.Initial observations on the morpho-syntactic properties of Kokborok reflexives
    • 3.1Kokborok reflexives
    • 3.2Kokborok reflexives functioning as emphatic forms
    • 3.3Summary
  • 4.Binding in Kokborok
    • 4.1Local binding
    • 4.2Non-local binding in Kokborok
    • 4.3Binding in a Bodo-Garo perspective
    • 4.4An account of non-local binding in Kokborok
    • 4.5Non-local binding of the complex reflexive in Kokborok
  • 5.Explorations
    • 5.1sak baithaŋ
    • 5.2sak sak
    • 5.3An alternative
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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