Italian Volerci
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Cinzia Russi
Abstract
Based on a detailed reconstruction of the evolution of Old Italian bisogna “must/be necessary”, Benincà and Poletto (1994, 1997) propose that this verb underwent a process of grammaticalization through which it changed from full verb into a functional head expressing deontic necessity. This paper investigates the hypothesis that an analogous process of grammaticalization concerns the verb volerci “take (intr.)/be necessary” (< modal volere “want”). The main goal of the paper is then to determine whether volerci can still be considered a lexical verb or it is more accurately categorized as a functional head á la par with bisogna. A careful comparison between volerci and Modern Italian bisogna reveals that the two verbs do not display similar morphosyntactic behavior; rather, volerci is characterized by the same structural properties as Old Italian bisogna. The strong morphosyntactic parallel between Old Italian bisogna and volerci leads to conclude that, although volerci has undergone grammaticalization to some degree, it has not lost the ability to project arguments, i.e., it has not become (yet) a modal functional element and is still a lexical verb.
Abstract
Based on a detailed reconstruction of the evolution of Old Italian bisogna “must/be necessary”, Benincà and Poletto (1994, 1997) propose that this verb underwent a process of grammaticalization through which it changed from full verb into a functional head expressing deontic necessity. This paper investigates the hypothesis that an analogous process of grammaticalization concerns the verb volerci “take (intr.)/be necessary” (< modal volere “want”). The main goal of the paper is then to determine whether volerci can still be considered a lexical verb or it is more accurately categorized as a functional head á la par with bisogna. A careful comparison between volerci and Modern Italian bisogna reveals that the two verbs do not display similar morphosyntactic behavior; rather, volerci is characterized by the same structural properties as Old Italian bisogna. The strong morphosyntactic parallel between Old Italian bisogna and volerci leads to conclude that, although volerci has undergone grammaticalization to some degree, it has not lost the ability to project arguments, i.e., it has not become (yet) a modal functional element and is still a lexical verb.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
- A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction 1
- Taking a Closer Look at Romance VN Compounds 13
- Beyond Descriptivism 27
- Do Subjects Have a Place in Spanish? 51
- On the Conceptual Role of Number 67
- The Diachronic Development of a French Indefinite Pronoun 83
- A Syntactic Analysis of Italian Deverbal-Nouns 97
- V-N Compounds In Italian 113
- A Reinterpretation of Quirky Subjects and Related Phenomena in Spanish 127
- Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope 143
- Avant que - or Avant de -Clauses 155
- Null Directional Prepositions in Romanian and Spanish 169
- A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure 187
- Default Morphology in Second Language Spanish 201
- Early Object Omission in Child French and English 213
- Agreement Paradigms Across Moods and Tenses 229
- Italian Volerci 247
- Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate 263
- Subject Index 279
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
- A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction 1
- Taking a Closer Look at Romance VN Compounds 13
- Beyond Descriptivism 27
- Do Subjects Have a Place in Spanish? 51
- On the Conceptual Role of Number 67
- The Diachronic Development of a French Indefinite Pronoun 83
- A Syntactic Analysis of Italian Deverbal-Nouns 97
- V-N Compounds In Italian 113
- A Reinterpretation of Quirky Subjects and Related Phenomena in Spanish 127
- Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope 143
- Avant que - or Avant de -Clauses 155
- Null Directional Prepositions in Romanian and Spanish 169
- A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure 187
- Default Morphology in Second Language Spanish 201
- Early Object Omission in Child French and English 213
- Agreement Paradigms Across Moods and Tenses 229
- Italian Volerci 247
- Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate 263
- Subject Index 279
