Unmarked use of marked syntactic structures
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Christoph Gabriel
Abstract
Bulgarian Judeo-Spanish (BJS) is characterized by its frequent use of structures that are considered highly marked or even ungrammatical in Mainstream Spanish (MS). The analysis of semi-spontaneous data, recorded from four BJS-Bulgarian bilinguals, and the comparison with a same-sized Madrid Spanish control corpus reveal that BJS offers a broader gamut of possessive constructions and allows for fronting of non-subject constituents in information-structurally neutral contexts. A rating task carried out with 8 MS natives confirms that such structures are perceived as marked in MS. The fact that BJS patterns with both Old Spanish and contemporary Bulgarian regarding its repertoire of possessives and the use of fronting structures suggests an interpretation which refers to both its ancestor and the present-day contact language.
Abstract
Bulgarian Judeo-Spanish (BJS) is characterized by its frequent use of structures that are considered highly marked or even ungrammatical in Mainstream Spanish (MS). The analysis of semi-spontaneous data, recorded from four BJS-Bulgarian bilinguals, and the comparison with a same-sized Madrid Spanish control corpus reveal that BJS offers a broader gamut of possessive constructions and allows for fronting of non-subject constituents in information-structurally neutral contexts. A rating task carried out with 8 MS natives confirms that such structures are perceived as marked in MS. The fact that BJS patterns with both Old Spanish and contemporary Bulgarian regarding its repertoire of possessives and the use of fronting structures suggests an interpretation which refers to both its ancestor and the present-day contact language.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction. When data challenges theory 1
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Part I. Theoretical studies
- Distinguishing psychological Given/New from linguistic Topic/Focus makes things clearer 39
- Remarks on information structure marking asymmetries 57
- Alternatives to information structure 91
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Part II. Case studies
- How alternatives are created 115
- Is focus a root phenomenon? 147
- The curious case of the rare focus movement in French 183
- To be or not to be focus adverbials? 203
- Unmarked use of marked syntactic structures 239
- Translation as a source of pragmatic interference? 271
- Index 305
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction. When data challenges theory 1
-
Part I. Theoretical studies
- Distinguishing psychological Given/New from linguistic Topic/Focus makes things clearer 39
- Remarks on information structure marking asymmetries 57
- Alternatives to information structure 91
-
Part II. Case studies
- How alternatives are created 115
- Is focus a root phenomenon? 147
- The curious case of the rare focus movement in French 183
- To be or not to be focus adverbials? 203
- Unmarked use of marked syntactic structures 239
- Translation as a source of pragmatic interference? 271
- Index 305
