Home Linguistics & Semiotics A phase-based analysis of Old French genitive constructions
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

A phase-based analysis of Old French genitive constructions

  • Deborah Arteaga and Julia Herschensohn
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
To Publisher Page
Romance Linguistics 2009
This chapter is in the book Romance Linguistics 2009

Abstract

This paper considers two types of genitive constructions in Old French (OF), one in which the possessor is introduced by a preposition (type un ami à moi “my friend”/l’ami du roi “the king’s friend”) and another, in which no overt preposition is found (type la niece le duc “the duke’s niece”), the so-called juxtaposition genitive (JG). Although not preceded by a preposition, the possessor in the JG is invariably in the oblique case (Arteaga 1995 and Delfitto & Paradisi 2009). Assuming recent minimalist analyses of DPs (Lin 2009; Adger 2003; Hartmann & Zimermann, 2003; Carstens 2000, 2003), a phase-based account of OF genitive constructions is proposed. It is assumed that in the JG, a null preposition checks oblique case on the possessor. The feature [def], required in OF of possessors in the JG, allows for the derivation of the various JG structures.

Abstract

This paper considers two types of genitive constructions in Old French (OF), one in which the possessor is introduced by a preposition (type un ami à moi “my friend”/l’ami du roi “the king’s friend”) and another, in which no overt preposition is found (type la niece le duc “the duke’s niece”), the so-called juxtaposition genitive (JG). Although not preceded by a preposition, the possessor in the JG is invariably in the oblique case (Arteaga 1995 and Delfitto & Paradisi 2009). Assuming recent minimalist analyses of DPs (Lin 2009; Adger 2003; Hartmann & Zimermann, 2003; Carstens 2000, 2003), a phase-based account of OF genitive constructions is proposed. It is assumed that in the JG, a null preposition checks oblique case on the possessor. The feature [def], required in OF of possessors in the JG, allows for the derivation of the various JG structures.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword & acknowledgements ix
  4. List of contributors xi
  5. Editors’ introduction 1
  6. Part I. Phonetics/Phonology
  7. Correcting the record on Dominican [s]-hypercorrection 15
  8. V-to-V assimilation in trisyllabic words in French 25
  9. The production and provenance of palatal nasals in Portuguese and Spanish 43
  10. Lenition and phonemic contrast in Majorcan Catalan 63
  11. Alveolar laterals in Majorcan Spanish 81
  12. Units of speech production in Italian 95
  13. Pitch polarity in Palenquero 111
  14. Word-minimality and sound change in Hispano-Romance 129
  15. Multiple opacity in Eastern Regional French 153
  16. Part II. Syntax
  17. Syntactic variation in Colombian Spanish 169
  18. Anaphoricity, logophoricity and intensification 187
  19. More on the clitic combination puzzle 203
  20. The Spanish dative alternation revisited 217
  21. Romanian genderless pronouns and parasitic gaps 231
  22. To agree or not to agree 249
  23. Variation in subject expression in Western Romance 267
  24. A phase-based analysis of Old French genitive constructions 285
  25. V2 loss in Old French and Old Occitan 301
  26. Part III. Morphology, and interfaces
  27. The loss and survival of inflectional morphology 323
  28. Allomorphy in pre-clitic imperatives in Formenteran Catalan 337
  29. Preverbal vowels in wh-questions and declarative sentences in Northern Italian Piacentine dialects 353
  30. Pitch accent, focus, and the interpretation of non- wh exclamatives in French 369
  31. Detours along the perfect path 387
  32. Grammaticalization of commencer/cominciare “to begin” in French and Italian 405
  33. Index of subjects, terms and languages 423
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.315.17art

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword & acknowledgements ix
  4. List of contributors xi
  5. Editors’ introduction 1
  6. Part I. Phonetics/Phonology
  7. Correcting the record on Dominican [s]-hypercorrection 15
  8. V-to-V assimilation in trisyllabic words in French 25
  9. The production and provenance of palatal nasals in Portuguese and Spanish 43
  10. Lenition and phonemic contrast in Majorcan Catalan 63
  11. Alveolar laterals in Majorcan Spanish 81
  12. Units of speech production in Italian 95
  13. Pitch polarity in Palenquero 111
  14. Word-minimality and sound change in Hispano-Romance 129
  15. Multiple opacity in Eastern Regional French 153
  16. Part II. Syntax
  17. Syntactic variation in Colombian Spanish 169
  18. Anaphoricity, logophoricity and intensification 187
  19. More on the clitic combination puzzle 203
  20. The Spanish dative alternation revisited 217
  21. Romanian genderless pronouns and parasitic gaps 231
  22. To agree or not to agree 249
  23. Variation in subject expression in Western Romance 267
  24. A phase-based analysis of Old French genitive constructions 285
  25. V2 loss in Old French and Old Occitan 301
  26. Part III. Morphology, and interfaces
  27. The loss and survival of inflectional morphology 323
  28. Allomorphy in pre-clitic imperatives in Formenteran Catalan 337
  29. Preverbal vowels in wh-questions and declarative sentences in Northern Italian Piacentine dialects 353
  30. Pitch accent, focus, and the interpretation of non- wh exclamatives in French 369
  31. Detours along the perfect path 387
  32. Grammaticalization of commencer/cominciare “to begin” in French and Italian 405
  33. Index of subjects, terms and languages 423
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 29.12.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/cilt.315.17art/html
Scroll to top button