Grammar of binding in the languages of the world: Unity versus diversity

- Conditions on binding reflect universal properties of grammar.
- Universal principles interact with lexical properties of pronouns and the environment.
- Language variation arises through this interaction.
- Reflexive predicates must be licensed by bundling semantic roles or by protection.
- The binding systems of Peranakan Javanese and Jambi fit in the predicted variation space.

Cole, Hermon, and Yanti (2015) present a number of far-reaching conclusions about language universals on the basis of their study of the anaphoric systems of the Austronesian languages of Indonesia. The present contribution critically assesses these conclusions. It reports a further set of data, and shows that contra to what these authors argue, the systems they discuss can be straightforwardly accounted for by a simple set of universal principles plus properties of the vocabulary of the languages involved. I conclude this article with some remarks on acquisition.