Topics and the left periphery
-
Christine Meklenborg Salvesen
Abstract
Just as the Modern Germanic languages (with the exception of English) have a verb second structure (V2), Old French was a V2 language. In this paper I compare Old French and Modern Germanic and show that they share the basic configuration. I suggest that these languages all have obligatory verb movement to Fin°, and that only material in SpecFocP and SpecFinP are visible for V2. All the V2-languages investigated exhibit instances of apparent V3-constructions that may be accounted for in a split-CP-framework. Crucially, there is a difference between Modern Germanic and Old French regarding topics. In Modern Germanic, a left dislocated topic must be immediately followed by its resumptive pronoun, a constraint which is not operative in Old French.
Abstract
Just as the Modern Germanic languages (with the exception of English) have a verb second structure (V2), Old French was a V2 language. In this paper I compare Old French and Modern Germanic and show that they share the basic configuration. I suggest that these languages all have obligatory verb movement to Fin°, and that only material in SpecFocP and SpecFinP are visible for V2. All the V2-languages investigated exhibit instances of apparent V3-constructions that may be accounted for in a split-CP-framework. Crucially, there is a difference between Modern Germanic and Old French regarding topics. In Modern Germanic, a left dislocated topic must be immediately followed by its resumptive pronoun, a constraint which is not operative in Old French.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Scandinavian
- On the syntax of the accusative/dative alternation in spatial PPs in Norwegian dative dialects 9
- Spurious topic drop in Swedish 27
-
Germanic sociolinguistics
- “The voice from below” 53
- Gender maintenance and loss in Totenmålet, English, and other major Germanic varieties 77
-
French
- Non-finite adjuncts in French 111
- Topics and the left periphery 131
-
Language change
- The developmental logic of the analytic past in German and Polish 175
- The diachrony of pronouns and demonstratives 195
-
Lesser-studied languages
- Origins of metathesis in Batsbi 221
- Indefinitely definite expressions 239
-
Language acquisition
- Doing diachrony 259
- The acquisition of linguistic variation 275
-
Language evolution
- The evolution of language 301
- Language as technology 327
- Index 359
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Scandinavian
- On the syntax of the accusative/dative alternation in spatial PPs in Norwegian dative dialects 9
- Spurious topic drop in Swedish 27
-
Germanic sociolinguistics
- “The voice from below” 53
- Gender maintenance and loss in Totenmålet, English, and other major Germanic varieties 77
-
French
- Non-finite adjuncts in French 111
- Topics and the left periphery 131
-
Language change
- The developmental logic of the analytic past in German and Polish 175
- The diachrony of pronouns and demonstratives 195
-
Lesser-studied languages
- Origins of metathesis in Batsbi 221
- Indefinitely definite expressions 239
-
Language acquisition
- Doing diachrony 259
- The acquisition of linguistic variation 275
-
Language evolution
- The evolution of language 301
- Language as technology 327
- Index 359
