Local and Non-Local Binding of Reflexives and Pronominals in Russian Object Control Infinitives

Abstract

It has been suggested that reflexives and pronominals in Russian object control infinitives can refer either to the matrix subject (non-local binding) or to the infinitive subject (local binding), depending on the matrix verb. Specifically, it has been argued that the non-local binding of a reflexive and the local binding of a pronominal are most likely to occur when the matrix verb induces a strong cohesion between the matrix and the infinitive clause. The present study investigates Russian speakers’ preferences in the interpretation of possessives in object control infinitives with the aim of testing the cohesion hypothesis by means of a referent selection task. The results show that the matrix verb does influence the interpretation of possessive reflexives and pronominals in object control infinitives, but not as predicted by the cohesion hypothesis. For a possessive reflexive, local binding is generally preferred, but non-local binding is also possible and most likely with a matrix verb that induces weak cohesion between the matrix and the infinitive clause. For a possessive pronominal, non-local binding is preferred both with a matrix verb that induces a strong cohesion and with a matrix verb that induces a weak cohesion, while local binding dominates with a matrix verb from the middle cohesion range. The study concludes that the cohesion between the matrix and the infinitive clause is not a relevant factor underlying the effect of the matrix verb in the interpretation of Russian possessives in object control infinitives. An alternative explanation in terms of implicit causality is proposed, which argues that the interpretation of reflexives is subject to a strong syntactic locality constraint, which can be weakened when pragmatic inferences from the basic cognitive representation of the event conditioned by a matrix verb make a non-local referent salient. The interpretation of pronominals is subject to a weak anti-locality constraint, which can be overridden when pragmatic inferences suggest a local referent as the more salient interpretation.