Subject intervention in free relatives
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Carlo Cecchetto
Abstract
Subject intervention in wh-questions has been reported for several Romance varieties. The case we focus on here is free relatives. In Italian/French an object free relative introduced by chi/qui is degraded if a preverbal subject intervenes, much like the corresponding wh-question. However, pronominal relatives introduced by ciò che/ce que do not show a subject intervention effect. Moreover, in other languages, including English, free relatives display no subject intervention effect whatsoever. In this paper we address the following questions: (i) Why do subject intervention effects emerge in direct questions and in free relatives in Italian, French (and other Romance varieties)? (ii) Why don’t they arise in pronominal relatives? (iii) Why don’t they arise in languages like English?To answer these questions, we capitalize on the concept of Gross Minimality (Cecchetto & Donati, 2015) and on the observation that English free relatives are modeled after indirect questions.
Abstract
Subject intervention in wh-questions has been reported for several Romance varieties. The case we focus on here is free relatives. In Italian/French an object free relative introduced by chi/qui is degraded if a preverbal subject intervenes, much like the corresponding wh-question. However, pronominal relatives introduced by ciò che/ce que do not show a subject intervention effect. Moreover, in other languages, including English, free relatives display no subject intervention effect whatsoever. In this paper we address the following questions: (i) Why do subject intervention effects emerge in direct questions and in free relatives in Italian, French (and other Romance varieties)? (ii) Why don’t they arise in pronominal relatives? (iii) Why don’t they arise in languages like English?To answer these questions, we capitalize on the concept of Gross Minimality (Cecchetto & Donati, 2015) and on the observation that English free relatives are modeled after indirect questions.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction xi
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PART I. The Architecture of the Computational Component
- Problems of projection 3
- Notes on labeling and subject positions 17
- On a PP/DP asymmetry in extraction 47
- Augmentative, pejorative, diminutive and endearing heads in the extended nominal projection 67
- A note on parallels between agreement and intervention 83
- Locality effects in Italian verbal morphology 97
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PART II. The Realization of Structure Relative to Discourse and Referential Dependencies: Focus, the vP periphery, and pronominal reference
- Be careful how you use the left periphery 135
- Exhaustivity operators and fronted focus in Italian 163
- Some notes on clefting and fronting 181
- A case of focal adverb preposing in French 209
- Transferring strategies and the nature of transfer 237
- Resolving pronominal anaphora in real-time 257
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PART III. Complex clauses in linguistic theory and acquisition: The role of intervention
- On the comprehension and production of passive sentences and relative clauses by Italian university students with dyslexia 279
- Relatively easy relatives 303
- Intervention effects in the spontaneous production of relative clauses in (a)typical language development of French children and adolescents 321
- Minimality effects in children’s passives 343
- Subject intervention in free relatives 369
- Relative clauses in Cimbrian 393
- Index 417
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction xi
-
PART I. The Architecture of the Computational Component
- Problems of projection 3
- Notes on labeling and subject positions 17
- On a PP/DP asymmetry in extraction 47
- Augmentative, pejorative, diminutive and endearing heads in the extended nominal projection 67
- A note on parallels between agreement and intervention 83
- Locality effects in Italian verbal morphology 97
-
PART II. The Realization of Structure Relative to Discourse and Referential Dependencies: Focus, the vP periphery, and pronominal reference
- Be careful how you use the left periphery 135
- Exhaustivity operators and fronted focus in Italian 163
- Some notes on clefting and fronting 181
- A case of focal adverb preposing in French 209
- Transferring strategies and the nature of transfer 237
- Resolving pronominal anaphora in real-time 257
-
PART III. Complex clauses in linguistic theory and acquisition: The role of intervention
- On the comprehension and production of passive sentences and relative clauses by Italian university students with dyslexia 279
- Relatively easy relatives 303
- Intervention effects in the spontaneous production of relative clauses in (a)typical language development of French children and adolescents 321
- Minimality effects in children’s passives 343
- Subject intervention in free relatives 369
- Relative clauses in Cimbrian 393
- Index 417
