Contrasting a phenomenon at the syntax-discourse interface: Subject verb inversion in English and in Macedonian (original) (raw)
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The interaction of syntax and discourse in word order: data from Turkish
Dilbilim ve Uygulamaları, 2005
Some recent studies have pointed out that certain grammatical phenomena are not eligible to be analyzed within a strictly formal-syntactic framework, and that surface forms can best be analyzed as resulting from the interaction of syntax and pragmatics. This paper will advocate a similar view by arguing that it is necessary to postulate two distinct but interacting levels of representation in order to accommodate word order variation in Turkish: a "phrase structure" (PS) at the formal-syntactic level and an "information structure" (IS) at the pragmatic level. It will evaluate data primarily concerning quantifier scope and binding to show that 'fronting' of the object has a pragmatic as well as a semantic import, whereas 'postposing' of the sentence-initial arguments is pragmatically contentful but semantically vacuous. It will argue that although object fronting lands itself to a syntactic movement analysis, attempts to associate semantically vacuous alternations like postposing with formal-syntactic operations either call for unmotivated modifications to the generativist assumptions, or necessitate extensions to the framework, which leads to the weakening of the theory. 1. Scope and claim Although it is commonly acknowledged that alternative constituent orders in a language reflect alternative discursive distributions, functionally-and formally-oriented frameworks have different assumptions about how central discourse is to the grammatical system, and about whether it is necessary to posit a level of pragmatic relations distinct from the level of formal-syntactic (or, semantic) relations. Functionalist studies explicitly recognize discursive aspects of word order variation. Various frameworks make use of structured representations of discourse entities, commonly termed as 'information structures', which are taken to be 3.2 Formal-syntactic properties of the data Once information structures for the surface forms under investigation are designated, we will look at the formal-syntactic consequences of fronting and postposing. Quantifier scope and binding, together with case and agreement, have always been central concepts in formal-syntax, since they are assumed to provide direct empirical indications of a hierarchical structure by revealing c-command relations between constituents of a sentence. Bittner (1994) conceives s-structure (which roughly corresponds to the syntactic object at Spell-Out in the minimalist framework) as "the syntactic level which determines structural Case assignment, agreement and syntactic binding relations." (Bittner, 1994:2). She further supposes that the s-structure is the default Logical Form (LF), from which alternative LFs can be derived. Kural (1997) expresses the relevance of c-command for relative scope readings as follows:
Verb-Final Orders in Slavonic-Serbian: Linguistic Factors
Zbornik Matice srpske za filologiju i lingvistiku, 2023
This paper presents quantitative evidence of object-verb (OV) orders leading to the clause final position of the verb in Kratka vsemirna istorija od Georgija Magaraševića, profesora (1831), written in Slavonic-Serbian, and argues that OV orders arise not (only) as a stylistic feature of the so-called baroque configuration of the sentence, but due to linguistic factors. We show that grammatical factors influencing the rates of OV orders are statistically significant. Finally, we argue that since neither OV nor VO comes with a unique information-structural interpretation (IS), the frequency and 'oddity of' OV orders comes from the fact that what is IS/pragmatically marked are not discourse referents (terms) but predicates, and that the relevant IS notion is predicate focus. While some uses of predicate focus marking are difficult to motivate, our corpus offers evidence that predicate focus can be employed as a means of indicating discourse subordination and narrative discourse development.
2018
By discussing novel data from two Dolomitic Ladin languages spoken in Northern Italy, Badiotto and Gardenese, we show that in these Verb-second languages subject-finite verb inversion i) is constrained by the syntactic (adverb or object) and discourse (focus or topic) nature of the sentenceinitial constituent, and by the discourse status of the DP subject. We demonstrate that in both varieties subjects in inversion either appear in a FocusP of the vP periphery (Belletti 2004, Poletto 2010) or in an A position in the IP layer, and that the observed distribution of inversion follows from two universal constraints of movement affecting extraction through the vP edge: a) cyclicity (extraction through the edge of the vP phase, Chomsky 2001) and b) locality/RM (Rizzi 1990, 2004). By comparing the distribution of DP subjects in Ladin with that observed in other V2 languages, such as Mòcheno and Mainland Scandinavian, we propose a novel typology of V2 languages and of subject-finite verb in...
Stylistic Inversion in Romanian*
Studia Linguistica, 2006
This paper investigates the Romanian subject pronoun inversion construction (SPIC), which resembles French subject clitic inversion. It is shown that Romanian inverts subject pronouns, not subject clitics, in speaker oriented direct speech. Tests on the distribution and the interpretation of subjects show that the verb-pronoun inversion and adjacency follow from syntactic versus morpho-phonologic constraints. The analysis relates the syntax of the pronoun to the exclusive speaker oriented environment, and treats this construction as a manifestation of the pragmatic input in syntactic computation.
Scientific Journal of Polonia University, 2021
The article elucidates allomorphic syntactic models with inversion in English and Ukrainian, as Indo-European languages of different groups. The key emphasis is put on the expressive potential of these syntactic structures, while taking into account their frequency and distributional behavior as well. The latter show direct dependence of inverted constructions stylistic connotation upon the word order patterns of a specific language and determine an extent of expressive colouring of particular cases of inversion. The allomorpism of this linguistic category in English and Ukrainian manifests itself in syntactic models. The latter acquire a special status in English due to the limitation of their usage in fiction texts. This feature is not typical of the Ukrainian Language. The constructions with an introductory there, emphatic do and a prepositional position constitute distinctive English structures; the syntactic models with existential and movement semantics display allomorphic parameters typical of Ukrainian. The two languages text systems, though, require complex consideration from the point of view of different language levels in the micro-and macrocontextual framework as a key factor complementing the discourse expressiveness.
A cross-linguistic study of so-called "locative inversion
2005
This chapter's goal is to isolate the internal syntactic, semantic and discourse-pragmatic properties of the "locative inversion" construction in six languages, representing three constituent order types: English, French, Italian, European Portuguese, Turkish (rigid SOV) and Arabic (flexible VSO). The descriptive framework adopted is that of Functional Discourse Grammar (FDG). The FDG approach in terms of the subsequent placement of underlyingly unordered constituents in positions within a template is shown to be perfectly suited to a proper treatment of this construction. Locative inversion is a distinct construction in its own right: indeed, its properties do not derive from those of the canonical, unmarked construction with which it can be correlated (so there is no "inversion" in terms of movement from an underlyingly clause-initial position to a post-verbal one in this case). The overall purpose is to show that the properties specific to the construction...
Inversion in English and Hungarian : comparison from a cognitive perspective
2012
This paper compares inverting constructions in English and Hungarian, arguing for a unified treatment from a cognitive perspective. Three largely consonant accounts (Goldberg 2006, Langacker 2010, and Imrényi 2009/2010) are presented with the aim of assessing their cross-linguistic appeal. In the final analysis, inversion is seen as a way of signalling departure from a conceptual “baseline”, operating in the “existential core” of the finite clause (both terms are introduced in Langacker 2010). Elements external to the core are said to function as either elaborators or restrictors, depending on whether they respect or override the baseline properties of the core.
Functional constraints on inversion in English and Farsi
Language Sciences, 1996
In this paper we demonstrate that discourse-functional constraints on inversion in Farsi correspond to those on inversion in English despite differences in word order. Farsi canonically exhibits SXV word order, but permits a marked ordering of XSV. Although this word order is like that of English topicalization, it does not share the discourse function of topicalization in English; instead, Farsi XSV word order corresponds functionally to English inversion. In both languages inversion requires the preposed constituent to represent more familiar information in the discourse than does the postposed constituent; moreover, in both languages inversion serves to reverse the relative ordering of these constituents. The difference in word order between inversion in Farsi and inversion in English reduces to a difference in the position of the verb, and reflects independent syntactic constraints. Hence, Farsi XSV word order and English XVS word order represent a single inversion construction.
Inversion and Word Order in English A Functional Perspective
Studies in English Language and Education, 2021
English is an SVO (Subject, Verb, Object) word order language. This canonical SVO pattern is the default unmarked word-order configuration typical of English, which makes English to be classified under the typology of SVO languages. However, driven by the major purpose of language as an instrument of human communication and social interaction, and as a semantic system for making meanings, addressors sometimes depart in their discourse from this basic canonical order of constituents where a grammaticalized system like inversion takes place, resulting in inverted constructions. Through testing and developing the Degree of Focus Hypothesis, proposed by Huffman (1993), this study, which employed a mixed methods research design, sought to explore the communicative and semantic values of inversion; and the pragmalinguistc functions of preposing, i.e. clause-initial adjuncts, to the pragmatic process of communication. The study confirmed the Degree of Focus Hypothesis where the hypothesized notion of concentration of attention stemming from inversion was found to be applicable. The paper stressed that what triggers inversion or non-inversion is a certain communicative effect such as focus rather than a relation of formal determination where one element determines mechanically the form or appearance of another. A contribution to linguistic and educational research, the paper, therefore, highlighted the importance of a human factor in the functioning of language, and emphasized the need to break away from grammar-based teaching (traditional grammar) to discourse-based language teaching (communicative grammar) where languaging rather than language should be the focus of language teaching and learning.