This article provides a comparative analysis of word order in Spanish, French and Italian. We first consider word order in general, and show that Spanish has all types of word order except SOV (i.e. SVO, VOS, OSV, VSO and OVS), while Italian lacks SOV and VSO, and French lacks SOV, VSO and OVS. Taking a constructional view on grammaticalization and language change, we argue that the different word order patterns can be accounted for in terms of grammaticalization. We provide evidence for a continuum from Spanish → Italian → French, Spanish being the least grammaticalized, and French the most grammaticalized language. In the second part of the article we provide further evidence for our claim by focusing on the distribution of a particular type of word order shared by all three languages, VOS, where the subject is typically narrowly focused. VOS occurs in four discourse contexts in Spanish and Italian, but it is subject to additional restrictions in Italian. In French it appears only in one of the four discourse contexts of Spanish and Italian. Our hypothesis is that this is a case of progressive grammaticalization with respect to the interface between grammatical structure (the VOS word order) and information structure. Independent evidence for our claim comes from the distribution of clefts in Romance, which are a functional variant of VOS. This phenomenon, which developed in Romance as an innovative mechanism used to narrowly focus a constituent, shows the reversed pattern as the one observed for VOS: it is most developed in French, least in Spanish while it is progressing in modern Italian.
ré s u méNous montrons dans cet article que les phrases introduites par c'est ainsi que correspondentà deux structures différentes: une vraie clivée avec l'adverbe de manière en focus et un connecteurà sens consécutif, récapitulatif ou illustratif. Nous décrivons le comportement syntaxique et sémantique de c'est ainsi que grâcè a une analyse de corpus. Pour rendre compte des emplois connectifs de c'est ainsi que, nous plaidons pour une double hypothèse : d'une part la grammaticalisation,à la fois de l'adverbe ainsi et de la clivée, et d'autre part la lexicalisation de c'est ainsi que.
This paper presents the results of corpus research on the distribution of different functionalpragmatic types of it-clefts and c'est-clefts in English and French adverbial clauses. We distinguish between narrowly contrastive clefts, broadly contrastive clefts (or new information focus clefts) and non-contrastive clefts. We present the results of corpus research showing that, whereas the three types occur in asserted (or peripheral) adverbial clauses (typically causals), only narrowly contrastive clefts occur in non-asserted (or central) adverbial clauses (typically temporals). The distribution of the three functional-pragmatic types of clefts is explained on the basis of the interaction between information structure, epistemic modality and assertion.independent illocutionary potential and are integrated in the speech act conveyed by the main clause (see also Verstraete 2002Verstraete , 2007.Haegeman (2004) argues, in line with Hooper and Thompson (1973) (see also Verstraete 2007: 187), that conjunctions that can only express the event-time (before, after, until) always introduce a central adverbial clause, and that conjunctions that unambiguously express concession or reason/justification (although, whereas, given that) introduce a peripheral adverbial clause. Some conjunctions can also introduce adverbial clauses of both types. The conjunction while, for instance, can have a temporal meaning (2a) and introducesin this case a central adverbial clause, which is, in Verstraete's ( 2007) terminology, a case of "free/bound subordination", wherein the content of the adverbial clause is not "challengeable" (Givón 1983). The same conjunction can also have an adversative meaning and introduce a peripheral adverbial clause (2b). In such an instance of "modal subordination", "both the main clause and the secondary clause have a modal value, which implies that both propositions in the clause are open to challenge" (Verstraete 2007: 150).(2) a.According to Smith, a group of Arkansas state troopers who worked for Clinton while he was governor wanted to go public with tales of Clinton's womanising. (Guardian, G2, 12.3.2, page 3, col 2-3; Haegeman 2004: 62) b. While [Dr Williams'] support for women priests and gay partnerships might label him as liberal, this would be a misleading way of depicting his uncompromisingly orthodox espousal of Christian belief.
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