Paul Hirschbühler | University of Ottawa | Université d'Ottawa (original) (raw)
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Papers by Paul Hirschbühler
John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks, 1989
Recherches linguistiques de Vincennes, May 1, 2001
De Gruyter eBooks, Dec 31, 1974
Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science, 2000
Revue québécoise de linguistique, May 6, 2009
Routledge eBooks, Nov 10, 2016
Oxford University Press eBooks, Aug 11, 2005
North East Linguistics Society, 1981
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique, 2018
The hypothesis that Old French was not a verb-second (V2) language, but rather a Topic-initial la... more The hypothesis that Old French was not a verb-second (V2) language, but rather a Topic-initial language, is evaluated in a corpus of verb initial (V1) and V2 matrix clauses extracted from a corpus of 12th- and 13th-century texts. It is shown that the initial constituent of V2 clauses is not always a Topic; it may be part of the informational Focus, or it could be an element that is neither Topic nor Focus. In addition, in V1 and V2 sentences with subject inversion, the postverbal subject may be an informational Topic, contrary to the hypothesis that subjects must move to the preverbal position to avoid being interpreted as part of the informational Focus. Therefore, from an Information-Structure point of view, Old French is similar to a standard V2 language like German. However, certain differences between 12th- and 13th-century texts could suggest that the use of the left periphery evolved during the period considered.
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique, 1984
Studies in Romance Linguistics, 1989
Oxford Scholarship Online, 2017
It is argued that, contrary to recent analyses, there was no stylistic fronting of the Icelandic ... more It is argued that, contrary to recent analyses, there was no stylistic fronting of the Icelandic type in Medieval French but a number of leftward stylistic displacements (LSD). The arguments against a stylistic fronting analysis include the absence of intervention effects and the absence of an empty subject condition. It is also argued that the LSD expression may have a diversity of informational roles and that the variety of constructions observed may be accounted for by a combination of (remnant) VP movement and short scrambling. Finally, three distinct constructions are identified: a V2 construction, an LSDLeft construction, with the LSD expression to the left of the subject, and an LSDRight construction, with the LSD expression to the right of the subject. LSDRight is the unmarked construction, and it includes the case where the subject position is unfilled.
John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks, 1989
Recherches linguistiques de Vincennes, May 1, 2001
De Gruyter eBooks, Dec 31, 1974
Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science, 2000
Revue québécoise de linguistique, May 6, 2009
Routledge eBooks, Nov 10, 2016
Oxford University Press eBooks, Aug 11, 2005
North East Linguistics Society, 1981
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique, 2018
The hypothesis that Old French was not a verb-second (V2) language, but rather a Topic-initial la... more The hypothesis that Old French was not a verb-second (V2) language, but rather a Topic-initial language, is evaluated in a corpus of verb initial (V1) and V2 matrix clauses extracted from a corpus of 12th- and 13th-century texts. It is shown that the initial constituent of V2 clauses is not always a Topic; it may be part of the informational Focus, or it could be an element that is neither Topic nor Focus. In addition, in V1 and V2 sentences with subject inversion, the postverbal subject may be an informational Topic, contrary to the hypothesis that subjects must move to the preverbal position to avoid being interpreted as part of the informational Focus. Therefore, from an Information-Structure point of view, Old French is similar to a standard V2 language like German. However, certain differences between 12th- and 13th-century texts could suggest that the use of the left periphery evolved during the period considered.
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique, 1984
Studies in Romance Linguistics, 1989
Oxford Scholarship Online, 2017
It is argued that, contrary to recent analyses, there was no stylistic fronting of the Icelandic ... more It is argued that, contrary to recent analyses, there was no stylistic fronting of the Icelandic type in Medieval French but a number of leftward stylistic displacements (LSD). The arguments against a stylistic fronting analysis include the absence of intervention effects and the absence of an empty subject condition. It is also argued that the LSD expression may have a diversity of informational roles and that the variety of constructions observed may be accounted for by a combination of (remnant) VP movement and short scrambling. Finally, three distinct constructions are identified: a V2 construction, an LSDLeft construction, with the LSD expression to the left of the subject, and an LSDRight construction, with the LSD expression to the right of the subject. LSDRight is the unmarked construction, and it includes the case where the subject position is unfilled.
It is argued that, contrary to recent analyses, there was no stylistic fronting of the Icelandic ... more It is argued that, contrary to recent analyses, there was no stylistic fronting of the Icelandic type in medieval French but a number of leftward stylistic displacements (LSD). The arguments against a stylistic fronting analysis include the absence of intervention effects and the absence of an empty subject condition. It is also argued that the LSD expression may have a diversity of informational roles and that the variety of constructions observed may be accounted for by a combination of (remnant) VP movement and short scrambling. Finally, three distinct constructions are identified: a V2 construction, an LSD_Left construction, with the LSD expression to the left of the subject, and an LSD_Right construction, with the LSD expression to the right of the subject. LSD_Right is the unmarked construction, and it includes the case where the subject position is unfilled.