On subjunctives and islandhood
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Lena Baunaz
Abstract
This article discusses the relation between selection, subjunctive mood and extraction facts. We show that the degree of permeability observed in subjunctive clauses with respect to, e.g., wh-extraction is apparent, and is only indirectly related to the indicative/subjunctive alternation. We examine different verb classes in French and show that the behavior of various types of wh-phrases in extraction contexts is not directly linked to the mood of the embedded clause. We therefore propose (i) that the indicative-subjunctive distribution is a property of predicates that has to be distinguished from the property involved in complementizer selection. In a nutshell, in French, the subjunctive-indicative alternation can be accounted for in terms of the emotive–cognitive property of the matrix predicate; and (ii) that islands effects, that is, the degree of permeability of the embedded clauses can be related to the properties of the selected complementizer. In other words, the possibilities of extraction of a wh-phrase from an embedded clause can be accounted for by the size of the complementizer that acts as a more or less strong blocker for wh-extraction from the clause it selects. We therefore propose that mood ‘selection’ and complementizer selection are two independent properties of the main predicate.
Abstract
This article discusses the relation between selection, subjunctive mood and extraction facts. We show that the degree of permeability observed in subjunctive clauses with respect to, e.g., wh-extraction is apparent, and is only indirectly related to the indicative/subjunctive alternation. We examine different verb classes in French and show that the behavior of various types of wh-phrases in extraction contexts is not directly linked to the mood of the embedded clause. We therefore propose (i) that the indicative-subjunctive distribution is a property of predicates that has to be distinguished from the property involved in complementizer selection. In a nutshell, in French, the subjunctive-indicative alternation can be accounted for in terms of the emotive–cognitive property of the matrix predicate; and (ii) that islands effects, that is, the degree of permeability of the embedded clauses can be related to the properties of the selected complementizer. In other words, the possibilities of extraction of a wh-phrase from an embedded clause can be accounted for by the size of the complementizer that acts as a more or less strong blocker for wh-extraction from the clause it selects. We therefore propose that mood ‘selection’ and complementizer selection are two independent properties of the main predicate.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword and Acknowledgments vii
- Editors’ introduction 1
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Part I. Sound patterns
- Sibilant voicing assimilation in peninsular Spanish as gestural blending 17
- Phonology-morphology opacity in Harmonic Serialism 39
- Morphologically conditioned intervocalic rhotacism in Algherese Catalan 63
- Muta cum liquida in the light of Tertenia Sardinian metathesis and compensatory lengthening Latin tr > Old French Vrr 77
- Schwa at the phonology/syntax interface 101
- Weight effects across verbal domains 119
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Part II. Syntax and semantics
- On truth persistence 135
- Pick some but not all alternatives! 155
- Polarity fronting in Romanian and Sardinian 173
- Degree quantification and scope in Puerto Rican Spanish 199
- ‘Minimal link constraint’ violations 213
- On subjunctives and islandhood 233
- When control can’t be a fact 255
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Part III. Historical aspects
- Prevocalic velar advancement in Chilean Spanish and Proto-Romance 277
- The role of the copula in the diachronic development of focus constructions in Portuguese 297
- The French wh interrogative system 315
- On the relation between functional architecture and patterns of change in Romance object clitic syntax 331
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Part IV. Interactions across dialects and languages
- Investigating the effects of perceptual salience and regional dialect on phonetic accommodation in Spanish 351
- English questions, Spanish structure 379
- French oral proficiency assessment 401
- Name index 417
- Subject index 423
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword and Acknowledgments vii
- Editors’ introduction 1
-
Part I. Sound patterns
- Sibilant voicing assimilation in peninsular Spanish as gestural blending 17
- Phonology-morphology opacity in Harmonic Serialism 39
- Morphologically conditioned intervocalic rhotacism in Algherese Catalan 63
- Muta cum liquida in the light of Tertenia Sardinian metathesis and compensatory lengthening Latin tr > Old French Vrr 77
- Schwa at the phonology/syntax interface 101
- Weight effects across verbal domains 119
-
Part II. Syntax and semantics
- On truth persistence 135
- Pick some but not all alternatives! 155
- Polarity fronting in Romanian and Sardinian 173
- Degree quantification and scope in Puerto Rican Spanish 199
- ‘Minimal link constraint’ violations 213
- On subjunctives and islandhood 233
- When control can’t be a fact 255
-
Part III. Historical aspects
- Prevocalic velar advancement in Chilean Spanish and Proto-Romance 277
- The role of the copula in the diachronic development of focus constructions in Portuguese 297
- The French wh interrogative system 315
- On the relation between functional architecture and patterns of change in Romance object clitic syntax 331
-
Part IV. Interactions across dialects and languages
- Investigating the effects of perceptual salience and regional dialect on phonetic accommodation in Spanish 351
- English questions, Spanish structure 379
- French oral proficiency assessment 401
- Name index 417
- Subject index 423
