The Role Hypothesis and the clause structure of the Northeast Caucasian languages

In this paper, I discuss the clause structure of the Northeast Caucasian languages in light of Aleksandr Kibrik’s Role Hypothesis, which posits that both morphosyntactic encoding and syntactic properties of arguments in these languages follow directly from their thematic roles (Agent, Patient) rather than grammatical relations (Subject, Object). Building upon discussions initiated by Yakov Testelets (2021), I cast the Role Hypothesis in the framework of formal syntax and test its predictions using data from Khwarshi (Tsezic). After presenting evidence that Khwarshi meets the standards of a role-based language, I focus on two problematic aspects of the Role Hypothesis in accounting for Khwarshi data: the association of unmarked cases with hyper-roles and the analysis of raising constructions.