In linguistics, switch-reference (sr) describes any clause-level morpheme that signals whether certain prominent arguments in 'adjacent' clauses are coreferential. In most cases, it marks whether the subject of the verb in one clause is coreferent with that of the previous clause, or of a subordinate clause to the matrix (main) clause that is dominating it.
Meanings of switch-reference The basic distinction made by a switch-reference system is whether the following clause has the same subject (SS) or a different subject (DS). That is known as canonical switch-reference. For purposes of switch-reference, subject is defined as it is for languages with a nominative–accusative alignment: a subject is the sole argument of an intransitive clause or the agent of a transitive one. It holds even in languages with a high degree of ergativity. The Washo language of California and Nevada exhibits a switch-reference system. When the subject of one verb is the same as the subject of the following verb, the verb takes no switch-reference marker. However, if the subject of one verb differs from the subject of the following verb, the verb takes the "different subject" marker, -š: as displayed below
The Seri language of northwestern Mexico also has a switch-reference system which is similar in most ways to those of other languages except for one very salient fact: the relevant argument in a passive clause is not the superficial subject of the passive verb but rather the always unexpressed underlying subject. In clauses with subject raising, it is the raised subject that is relevant.
Principles of switch-reference systems There are four fundamental properties that any switch reference system, canonical and non-canonical, should satisfy. Any system that does not have all these properties are categorically not switch reference:
Switch reference systems have switch reference markers that track a specific, generalized role, are morphologically marked, and apply at the clause level. Switch reference systems have at least one marker indicating coreference and at least one marker indicating disjoint-reference. Switch reference markers encode mutually exclusive values whose semantics include identity versus non-identity, and prototypically indicate coreference or disjoint reference across clauses. The semantics of the predicate in the controlling clause do not constrain the use of switch reference.
Canonical switch-reference A commonly used definition of canonical switch reference is that "switch-reference is an inflectional category of the verb, which indicates whether or not its subject is identical with the subject of some other verb." There are several formal properties that apply specifically to canonical switch reference systems. They include:
Canonical switch-reference markers are mostly inflectional affixes on verbs. They can sometimes be separate from the verb, typically at clause boundaries, and for coordinations. Canonical switch-reference markers are in paradigmatic opposition. Same subject and different subject clauses are thought of as counterparts in discourse, so both of their verbs can have different morphology and can be found in different slots. Some languages allow both same subject and different subject marking on a single verb, and the clause structure could also differ between the two. Switch-reference markers are monomorphemic, but can also be expressed as a combination of morphemes rather than a single affix. For instance, same subject and different subject markers are often portmanteau with other markers. In Kiowa, the same subject marker gɔ̀ is also used as a nominal coordinator. Switch-reference pivots are generally subjects, but can also be non-subjects as determined by syntactic (e.g. subject/object), semantic (e.g. agent/patient) or discourse-based (e.g. topic) salience. Different markers can use different criteria in selection Switch-reference is obligatorily marked regardless of the person, number, and gender features of the switch reference pivots. Switch reference is used even in cases where the interpretation of two subjects is evident. This rule is a differentiating factor between switch reference and other similar systems such as logophoricity. Syntactic dependency exists between the clause that hosts the switch-reference marker, and the clauses containing the switch reference pivots. If the marked clause is a chain clause, the control clause is the immediately adjacent clause. If the switch-reference marker is used in a subordinate clause, then the control clause is the matrix clause. There are sometimes intervening clauses (clause-skipping), and occasionally the control clause is not overt. As well, sometimes switch reference markers can be suffixed to coordinators of independent clauses.
Non-canonical switch-reference Many languages exhibit non-canonical switch-reference, the co-referents of arguments other than the subject being marked by switch-reference. Here is an example from Kiowa:
In this case, the use of the same-subject marker gɔ rather than the switch-reference marker nɔ indicates that the two subjects wrote letters at the same time, to the same person, and with the same subject. In addition, the nominative subject is not always marked by switch-reference. For instance, many clauses, including those with impersonal or weather verbs, have no subject at all but can both bear and trigger switch-reference.
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