"Your ass" is a universal pronoun

John Beavers & Andrew Koontz-Garboden
Stanford University

Most binding theories propose that different types of pronominals show
distinct distributions depending on syntactic domain (e.g. the
distribution of reflexive vs. non-reflexive pronouns in English as in
(1)).  In many colloquial dialects of English, an expression of the
form Possessive Pronoun+"ass" (e.g. "her ass", "his ass", "our
ass(es)", etc., which we collectively refer to as "your ass") may act
pronominally (cf. (2)), but seems to be able to appear in any binding
domain (cf. (3) regarding the reflexive/non-reflexive distinction),
suggesting that it doesn't neatly obey the strict division of
pronominal labor.  In this paper we examine the pronominal properties
of "your ass" against the backdrop of Kiparsky (2002), who proposes a
typology of domain specificity and obviation where more specific forms
(such as "himself") block the use of less specific forms (such as
"him") in appropriate domains.  We show where "your ass" fits into
this pronominal typology and how it apparently contradicts the
blocking theory in its interaction with more specific forms.  We
then explore the possibility that "your ass" has a kernel of
meaning that standard English pronominals lack, and that this meaning
interacts with the blocking effects to produce the observed patterns.

Kiparsky (2002:200ff) proposes a hierarchy of binding domains based on
four increasingly more specific criteria.  The broadest criterion is
referential dependence, wherein referentially dependent pronouns
require the presence of a discourse antecedent, and referentially
independent pronouns do not (cf. (4a)).  Referentially dependent
pronominals, in turn, are either non-reflexive, allowing for a
syntactic or discourse-based antecedent, or reflexive, requiring a
syntactic antecedent (cf. (4b)).  Reflexive pronouns may be either
finite-bound, requiring an antecedent in the same finite clause, or
not finite-bound, allowing for the possibility of being bound by an
antecedent outside of the finite clause (cf. (4c)).  Finally,
finite-bound pronominals may be either locally-bound, requiring an
antecedent in the "first accessible subject domain", or not
(cf. (4d)).  Each of these domains is cross-classified for the
property of obviation, i.e. whether or not a pronoun must have
disjoint reference with its coarguments.  All of these domains are
related to one another by blocking, so that if a language has a
pronominal with a more specific antecedent domain, in that particular
environment it blocks use of the pronominal with the less specific
domain.

Of interest in the present context is the fact that "your ass" can
apparently be used in all of these environments, as shown in (5).
These facts run contrary to Kiparsky's proposal on two grounds: (a)
despite his careful typological survey, Kiparsky finds no empirical
evidence for the existence of such a "universal pronoun" (although it
is a theoretical possibility), and (b) it seems to contradict
blocking, since reflexives are more specific and should block "your
ass" in their binding domain.  The issue in (b) seems problematic
given the robustness of the elsewhere principle.  We argue, however,
that further examination of the meaning of `your ass' can save
blocking.  Specifically, it seems that `your ass' has an element of
meaning not found in other English pronominals in that it also conveys
the speaker's attitude about power relations between the participants
in the event or situation under discussion (see Spears (1998) for
related discussion).  Typically, the referent of "your ass" is seen as
somehow less powerful than some other participant (cf. (6)).  This
additional information may prevent blocking by reflexives, which do
not convey this additional meaning.  In sum, "your ass" appears to
fill in a hitherto unattested blank in Kiparsky's typology and
furthermore seems to satisfy his theory of blocking only when
additional factors of meaning are taken into account.

(1) a.  John_i loves himself_i/*him_i.
    b.  John_i thinks that Mary loves him_i/*himself_i
    c.  He/*himself left.

(2) a.  Your ass wrote one great comic book. (=You wrote one great comic book.)
    b.  I thought your ass graduated. (=I thought you graduated.)

(3) a.  John_i saw [his ass]_i/himself_i/*him_i in the mirror.
    b.  John_i thinks that Mary loves him_i/[his ass]_i/*himself_i
    c.  His ass/he/*himself got fired last week.

(4) a.  We need to talk about him_i/*himself_i, him_j/*himself_j, and
    her_k/*herself_k. [pointing] (Referential inedpendence)

    b.  John_i is here.  I saw him_i/*himself_i. (Referentially
    dependent, non-reflexive)

    c.  John_i thought that I would criticize him_i/*himself_i.
    (Reflexive, non-finite-bound)

    d.  John_i asked me to criticize him_i/*himself_i. (Finite-bound,
    non-local)

    e.  John_i criticized himself_i/*him_i. (Local) 
    (cf. Kiparsky, 2002, p.201)

(5) a.  On the agenda for today is to talk about his ass_i, his ass_j,
    and her ass_k. [pointing] (Referential inedpendence)

    b.  If the Giant_i had his head lower between Hash's legs, and his
    own knees ent the move might have been easier on Nash.  As it was,
    his ass_i was banging Nash right in the face.  (Referentially
    dependent, non-reflexive) [rec.sport.pro-wrestling, 01-28-98]

    c.  First Newton, Alexander, and Moore make an ass out of
    Pangborn_i.  The more he whined about it, the more they nailed his
    ass_i. (Reflexive, non-finite-bound) [soc.men, 04-23-99]

    d.  John_i asked me to criticize his ass_i. (Finite-bound, non-local)

    e.  You bought your ass a lap-dance? (Local) [alt.angst, 08-31-00]

(6) a.  I am gonna knock your ass down the hill. 
        [rec.climbing, 08-18-01]
    b.  #My ass is gonna knock you down the hill.

References

Kiparsky, P. (2002).  "Disjoint reference and the typology of
      pronouns".  I. Kaufmann and B. Stiebels, eds.  "More than words".
      Berlin, Acadamie Verlag.

Spears, A. (1998).  "African-American language use: ideology and
      so-called obscenity".  S. Mufwene, J. Rickford, G. Bailey, and
      J. Baugh, eds.  "African-American English: structure, history, and
      use".  New York, Routledge.