scholarly journals Topics at the left edge of infinitive clauses in Spanish and Catalan

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Fernández-Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Current Approach ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Left Edge ◽  
Left Dislocation ◽  
Clitic Left Dislocation ◽  
Finite Domains

This paper deals with clitic left dislocation (CLLD) in infinitive clauses (IC) in Spanish and Catalan. The goal of this paper is twofold. First, I provide evidence that CLLDed constituents can target the left edge of ICs, contrary to previous claims in the literature (e.g. Ojea 2013). The results should not be surprising, considering that Romance CLLD is not a Main Clause Phenomena (Jiménez-Fernández & Miyagawa 2013, Authier & Haegeman 2015). Second, this sets aside CLLD from other left peripheral fronting operations in these languages, which are systematically unavailable at the left edge of IC. I argue that the data presented here does not obviously follow from any current approach about the deficiency of non-finite domains. I defend, instead, that the data can be accounted for under Ott (2015)'s proposal about CLLD, where the dislocated constituent is the remnant of a clause ellipsis operation and it is paratactically integrated in the host clause. Further, I will speculate about how this approach can account for the linear positions where CLLDed phrases can occur.

On Linkhood, Topicalization and Clitic Left Dislocation

2002 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
THEODORA ALEXOPOULOU ◽  
DIMITRA KOLLIAKOU
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Clitic Doubling ◽  
Left Dislocation ◽  
Information Packaging ◽  
Card System ◽  
Clitic Left Dislocation ◽  
Empirical Point ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Structural Definition

This paper focuses on the Information Packaging notion of linkhood and provides a structural definition of this notion for Greek. We show that a combination of structural resources – syntactic (left dislocation), morphological (clitic duplication) and phonological (absence of nuclear accent) – are simultaneously exploited to realize linkhood in Greek, a generalization that can be captured in a constraint-based grammar such as HPSG, which permits the expression of interface constraints. We assume Vallduví's (1992) approach to Information Packaging, and Engdahl & Vallduví's (1996) implementation of the latter in HPSG, but deviate from Vallduví's work in adopting Hendriks & Dekker's (1996) revised definition of linkhood that relies on non-monotone anaphora. From an empirical point of view, our approach directly accounts for the invariable association of Clitic Left Dislocated NPs with wide scope readings, as well as a number of systematic differences in felicity conditions between Clitic Left Dislocation and other apparently related phenomena (Topicalization and Clitic Doubling). From a theoretical perspective, our analysis departs from syntax-based notions of topichood or discourse-linking and supports a definition that unifies linkhood with other anaphora phenomena. As such, it arguably overcomes previously noted problems for Vallduví's treatment of links as the current-locus-of-update in a Heim-style file-card system.

Differential object marking in Modern Romanian

2021 ◽  
pp. 96-137
Author(s):  
Virginia Hill ◽  
Alexandru Mardale
Keyword(s):  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
Default Option ◽  
Left Dislocation ◽  
Clitic Left Dislocation ◽  
Direct Objects ◽  
Object Marking

Chapter 4 focuses on DOM in Modern Romanian, for both direct and indirect objects. The data are organized according to the type of DOM mechanisms, with separate sections for CD, DOM-p, and CD+DOM-p. The pragmatic effects noticed for Old Romanian DOM are re-assessed, considering that the contrasting interpretation of CD versus DOM-p is neutralized. The major changes concern the loss of CD with direct objects and its recycling in conjunction with DOM-p. While DOM-p declines and becomes more specialized for the end of the specificity scale, CD+DOM-p turns into the default option for DOM with direct objects, as opposed to CD, which becomes the default option for DOM with indirect objects. Increased productivity for CD+DOM-p coincides with the parallel expansion of Clitic Left Dislocation in the language, which completely replaces the constituent fronting through Topicalization.

Look before you move

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 396-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Leal
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Rating Task ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Visual Rating ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Left Dislocation ◽  
Clitic Left Dislocation ◽  
Discourse Interface

The present study examines whether, as proposed by the Interface Hypothesis (Sorace, 2011), the syntax-discourse interface is especially vulnerable to non-native optionality even at very advanced levels. I focus on the acquisition of Clitic Left Dislocation in Spanish (CLLD), a structure that involves both syntax and discourse, when it combines with other structures at the left periphery (iterative topics, Fronted Focus, and wh-constructions). CLLD is a realization of topicalization requiring the integration of syntactic and discourse knowledge. This study provides data from an audio-visual rating task completed by 120 learners of Spanish of different proficiency levels and 27 monolingual native speakers. Results showed evidence that the most advanced learners had acquired the restrictions of these structures in a native-like way and supports López’s (2009) syntactic analysis of CLLD, whereby CLLD is generated through movement so that the pragmatic features [+anaphor]/[+contrast] can be assigned to the dislocated element.

scholarly journals Clause Intertwining and Word Order in Ancient Greek

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rutger J. Allan
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Narrow Focus ◽  
Contrastive Topic ◽  
Pragmatic Function ◽  
Left Dislocation ◽  
Complement Clause

AbstractIn Ancient Greek complex sentences consisting of a main and complement clause, constituents which semantically and syntactically belong to the complement clause can be placed in a position preceding or interrupting the main clause. This phenomenon is referred to as clause or sentence intertwining. This paper examines the pragmatic factors involved in the preposing of contituents in sentences containing an in initival complement clause. It will be argued that the specific pragmatic function of the preposed constituents is Theme (left dislocation), new/contrastive topic or narrow focus. Preposing can be analyzed as a device to pragmatically highlight the involved constituents. The paper also addresses the position of new, contrastive and given topics and of adverbs and clauses with Setting function.

scholarly journals Clitic left dislocation and focus projection in Spanish

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Bildhauer
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Thematic Roles ◽  
Thematic Role ◽  
Left Dislocation ◽  
Clitic Left Dislocation ◽  
Focus Projection

The information-structural status of clitic left dislocated arguments in Spanish has been argued to depend crucially on their thematic role. Earlier HPSG analyses of related phenomena in other languages do not take into account this sort of information. A formalization will be presented which can handle differences in information-structure arising from different thematic roles of clitic left dislocated phrases.

Clitic Doubling in a Doubling World

2019 ◽  
pp. 215-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángela Di Tullio ◽  
Andrés Saab ◽  
Pablo Zdrojewski
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Important Conclusion ◽  
Clitic Doubling ◽  
Broad Perspective ◽  
Minimal Assumption ◽  
Left Dislocation ◽  
Clitic Left Dislocation ◽  
The One ◽  
Spanish Dialects

This chapter places Clitic Doubling in Argentinean Spanish into the broad perspective of pronominal doubling phenomena. A series of diagnostics is presented based on the interaction of Clitic Doubling with its PF/pragmatic effects, on the one hand, and its syntactic/LF effects, on the other. An important conclusion is that Clitic Doubling must be kept apart from Clitic Right Dislocation and Clitic Left Dislocation. Clitic Doubling is thus conceived of the morphological reflex of the abstract composition of object DPs; concretely, it is an A-dependency triggered whenever the object possesses a [person]-feature, an observation called the Person Feature Condition. So, under the minimal assumption that [3P] features can be optionally encoded on lexical DPs in Argentinean Spanish, but that it is only specified for pronouns in other Spanish dialects, variation facts associated with this phenomenon are explained. By the same token, the different behavior of doubled and nondoubled objects in several syntactic/LF configurations also follows.

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