16. Italian motion constructions
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Monica Mosca
Abstract
This chapter addresses the variety of motion expressions in an intra-linguistic and diachronic perspective, focusing on the lexicalisation patterns of Path in Italian and on the problematic notion ‘satellite’. Some of the constructions observed in Italian are explained as a continuation from Latin, in which the combination of vital and transparent verbal prefixes, prepositions, and inflectional cases gives rise to at least three different but apparently equivalent constructions. Italian has undergone a process of loss of the case system, and prepositions are the instrument by which this damage has been repaired. This produced a dissociation between the semantic-functional and the syntactic role of prepositions, which makes it difficult to distinguish prepositions expressing Path (satellites) from semantically weaker ones, fulfilling the role of prepositional case markers (PCM). A set of semantic and grammatical discrimination criteria are proposed. The category of satellite appears to be fuzzy and scalable in its nature, rather than an all-or-nothing one.
Abstract
This chapter addresses the variety of motion expressions in an intra-linguistic and diachronic perspective, focusing on the lexicalisation patterns of Path in Italian and on the problematic notion ‘satellite’. Some of the constructions observed in Italian are explained as a continuation from Latin, in which the combination of vital and transparent verbal prefixes, prepositions, and inflectional cases gives rise to at least three different but apparently equivalent constructions. Italian has undergone a process of loss of the case system, and prepositions are the instrument by which this damage has been repaired. This produced a dissociation between the semantic-functional and the syntactic role of prepositions, which makes it difficult to distinguish prepositions expressing Path (satellites) from semantically weaker ones, fulfilling the role of prepositional case markers (PCM). A set of semantic and grammatical discrimination criteria are proposed. The category of satellite appears to be fuzzy and scalable in its nature, rather than an all-or-nothing one.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors ix
- Foreword: Space and time in languages, cultures, and cognition xiii
- Introduction: Linguistic diversity in the spatio-temporal domain 1
-
I. Representing location in space and time
- 1. Spatial relations in Hinuq and Bezhta 15
- 2. Pragmatically disambiguating space 35
- 3. The semantics of the perfect progressive in English 53
- 4. Drowning “into” the river in North Sámi 73
- 5. Cross-linguistic differences in expressing time and universal principles of utterance interpretation 95
- 6. Modelling temporal reasoning 123
- 7. Language-specific perspectives in reference to time in the discourse of Czech, English, and Hungarian speakers 135
- 8. More than “time” 157
-
II. Space and time in language acquisition
- 9. L2 acquisition of tense-aspect morphology 181
- 10. Motion events in Japanese and English 205
- 11. ‘He walked up the pole with arms and legs’ 233
- 12. Caused motion events across languages and learner types 263
- 13. Spatial prepositions in Italian L2 289
- 14. Expressing simultaneity using aspect 325
-
III. Dynamic relations in space and time domains
- 15. Variation in motion events 349
- 16. Italian motion constructions 373
- 17. A temporal approach to motion verbs 395
- 18. The role of grammar in the conceptualisation of ‘progression’ 417
- 19. The locative PP motion construction in Polish 437
- 20. Path salience in motion descriptions in Jaminjung 459
- Contents of the companion volume: Language, culture, and cognition 481
- Name index 483
- Subject index 487
- Language index 491
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors ix
- Foreword: Space and time in languages, cultures, and cognition xiii
- Introduction: Linguistic diversity in the spatio-temporal domain 1
-
I. Representing location in space and time
- 1. Spatial relations in Hinuq and Bezhta 15
- 2. Pragmatically disambiguating space 35
- 3. The semantics of the perfect progressive in English 53
- 4. Drowning “into” the river in North Sámi 73
- 5. Cross-linguistic differences in expressing time and universal principles of utterance interpretation 95
- 6. Modelling temporal reasoning 123
- 7. Language-specific perspectives in reference to time in the discourse of Czech, English, and Hungarian speakers 135
- 8. More than “time” 157
-
II. Space and time in language acquisition
- 9. L2 acquisition of tense-aspect morphology 181
- 10. Motion events in Japanese and English 205
- 11. ‘He walked up the pole with arms and legs’ 233
- 12. Caused motion events across languages and learner types 263
- 13. Spatial prepositions in Italian L2 289
- 14. Expressing simultaneity using aspect 325
-
III. Dynamic relations in space and time domains
- 15. Variation in motion events 349
- 16. Italian motion constructions 373
- 17. A temporal approach to motion verbs 395
- 18. The role of grammar in the conceptualisation of ‘progression’ 417
- 19. The locative PP motion construction in Polish 437
- 20. Path salience in motion descriptions in Jaminjung 459
- Contents of the companion volume: Language, culture, and cognition 481
- Name index 483
- Subject index 487
- Language index 491
