VOS as predicate fronting in Chol

This paper offers a new account of basic VOS word order in Chol (Mayan). I argue that VOS order is not base-generated, as is commonly proposed within Mayan linguistics, but instead is the result of phrasal fronting of the predicate to the specifier of TP. This proposal derives support from restrictions on objects in VOS order. Specifically, the object in a VOS construction may not appear with a determiner, but must be a bare NP. In contrast, VSO constructions require a full DP object. I argue that these facts are best explained under a proposal in which bare NP objects remain inside the raised v P, while full DP objects undergo object shift to a position outside of v P. VSO order, then, is the result of v P remnant movement to Spec,TP. I suggest that the maximal predicate fronts to Spec,TP to check agreement features as a last resort due to the unavailability of v0-to-T0 head movement. In addition to eliminating the need for a specifier–head ordering parameter, this analysis receives empirical support from the placement of certain adverbs and PPs, and may be extended to cover constituent order in the nominal domain.