Two Steps to High Absolutive Syntax

In many ergative languages, the absolutive argument moves to a position above all other arguments in the clause. The mechanisms which underlie this movement remain a matter of dispute: it has been variously taken to reflect movement to a subject position or assimilated to a process of definiteness-related object shift. This paper investigates the syntax of the High Absolutive configuration in Mandar, an Austronesian language of South Sulawesi, and finds evidence for the first view. In Mandar, the process which places the absolutive argument in its position is linked to its interaction with functional heads that sit high in the clause. This pattern is shown through an investigation of the behavior of internal arguments which are definite but not absolutive. In Mandar, these do not raise to a position above the external argument. This fact suggests that the High Absolutive configuration cannot be derived from definiteness-related object shift alone