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Phase-edge properties and complementizer omission

This paper deals with the diachrony of complementizer omission (C-omission) in some Italian clauses. C-omission is restricted to clauses with [-realis] mood in Old as well as in Modern Italian, and to some types of declarative clauses in Modern Florentine (Cocchi & Poletto, 2005). This phenomenon is instead much more pervasive in the Renaissance period (Wanner 1981, Scorretti 1991) and invests basically all types of subordinate clauses. The present study concentrates on C-omission in Renaissance Italian relative clauses, which is attested in both subject and non-subject extractions. There is a subject/non-subject asymmetry in the frequency of C-omission in relative clauses, which is claimed to result from the combination of an active vs. inactive distinction that characterizes both Old and Renaissance Italian, and the loss of V-to-C. The active vs. inactive distinction is attributed to the presence of a strong (*) feature on the low-phase head, v*, in both Old and Renaissance Italian, while the loss of (*) in CP determines the loss of V-to-C in Renaissance Italian only. The argument is corroborated by further comparative facts from Old Occitan and Old French, as well as by a contrast with Old Portuguese and Old Spanish

Isogloss, vol 1, núm. 2 (2015)

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Universitat de Girona

Autor: Franco, Irene
Data: 2015
Resum: This paper deals with the diachrony of complementizer omission (C-omission) in some Italian clauses. C-omission is restricted to clauses with [-realis] mood in Old as well as in Modern Italian, and to some types of declarative clauses in Modern Florentine (Cocchi & Poletto, 2005). This phenomenon is instead much more pervasive in the Renaissance period (Wanner 1981, Scorretti 1991) and invests basically all types of subordinate clauses. The present study concentrates on C-omission in Renaissance Italian relative clauses, which is attested in both subject and non-subject extractions. There is a subject/non-subject asymmetry in the frequency of C-omission in relative clauses, which is claimed to result from the combination of an active vs. inactive distinction that characterizes both Old and Renaissance Italian, and the loss of V-to-C. The active vs. inactive distinction is attributed to the presence of a strong (*) feature on the low-phase head, v*, in both Old and Renaissance Italian, while the loss of (*) in CP determines the loss of V-to-C in Renaissance Italian only. The argument is corroborated by further comparative facts from Old Occitan and Old French, as well as by a contrast with Old Portuguese and Old Spanish
Format: application/pdf
ISSN: 2385-4138
Accés al document: http://hdl.handle.net/10256/11411
Llenguatge: eng
Editor: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Universitat de Girona
És part de: Isogloss, vol 1, núm. 2 (2015)
Drets: Attribution 3.0 Spain
URI Drets: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/
Matèria: Llengües romàniques
Romance languages
Gramàtica comparada i general -- Sintagma verbal
Grammar, Comparative and general -- Verb phrase
Italià -- Sintagma verbal
Italian language -- Verbals
Títol: Phase-edge properties and complementizer omission
Tipus: info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Repositori: DUGiDocs

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