A Survey of Switch-Reference in North America

Abstract

This paper introduces a new survey of switch-reference in the languages of North America. The survey’s purposes are to provide a broad basis for future analysis of switch-reference (SR), spur further research on the languages included, and help revitalization efforts with a better understanding of what SR looks like and how it works.

The survey catalogs 33 facts about SR morphology, semantics, and syntax, organized around central questions in SR research. The paper discusses the major findings based on the survey, some of which have major implications for theories of switch-reference: SR is found in nearly 70 American language varieties, mostly in the western United States and Mexico, often spreading by areal diffusion. Cross-linguistically, SR usually indicates subject co-reference across clauses. It is associated with every type of clause juncture except disjunction and is found throughout the verbal morphology. Morphological homophony with case is not due to a common semantic core.