THE BALKAN SLAVIC CLAUSAL CLITICS

The constituency and the behavior of the clausal clitics in Serbo-Croa tian, Macedonian and Bulgarian are analyzed. It is argued that, while in Serbo-Croatian the clausal clitics are moved to CP and the cluster is formed in a node that is right-adjoined to C degrees, in Macedonian and Bulgarian the clitics are base-derived in IF, and the cluster is formed to the immediate left of V. The movement of the clitics to CP r eflects the propensity of the clitics in Common Slavic to occur in cli tic-second or Wackernagel position. Nevertheless, this propensity is o verruled to the extent to which the verb forms a local domain with the clitics. In Macedonian, where the verb does form a local domain with the clitics, the clitic cluster is formed in IF, to the immediately le ft of the finite verb, so that, when the verb moves, the cluster trail s along (piggy-backing). In contrast, in Serbo-Croatian, the verb does not form a local domain with the clitics and the clitic cluster is fo rmed in reference to a specified syntactic position (the complementize r, in this case), rather than with reference to a specified syntactic category. In Bulgarian, where the verb and the clitics are weakly tied , the clitic cluster is formed in IF, but there is a discrepancy betwe en syntactic and phonological 'allegiance'. Since the restriction on m ultiple adjunction in the specifiers to the left of C degrees follows from the clustering of the clitics in it, while the clitics cluster in CO if they do not form a local domain with the finite verb of their c lause, we may conclude that the Wackernagel Effect indirectly depends on whether or not the clitics form a local domain with that verb. The discrepancy between the syntactic and phonological behavior of the Bul garian clitics can be explained by the fact that the propensity of the Bulgarian finite verb to form a local domain with the clitics is stil l weak, so that, while their syntactic properties have changed, the ph onological properties of the Bulgarian clitics reflect those of their common Slavic ancestor.