Although kadiwéu presents the same typological facts as the languages analyzed by Baker (1995), this work shows that Baker's polysynthesis parameter , according to which polysynthetic languages are pronominal argument languages, cannot be applied to this language. This paper offers, then, an alternative analysis to the pronominal argument theory for kadiwéu by arguing that nominal phrases are the verbal arguments in this polysynthetic language, like in any other better known language. On this view, one of the main properties of the polysynthetic languages, the so-called Condition C violation (e.g. <>i wants John i to love Mary, <> i broke John i's knife), follows from syntactic movement due to the nature of the Kadiwéu v-system. That is, this paper questions the existence of a polysynthesis parameter and develops Fukui & Speas (1996) insight that the syntax of a given language follows from the functional categories present in this language's lexicon.
polysynthesis parameter; non-configurationality; pronominal arguments; ergativity
