Argument structure and alignment variations and changes in Late Latin
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Michela Cennamo
Abstract
This paper explores the diachronic relationship between the active/neutral realignment of grammatical relations taking place in Late Latin, manifested by accusative subjects, and the temporary loss of the grammatical dimension of voice. These two clusters of changes can be shown to reflect the rise of headmarking patterns in a predominantly dependent-marking language such as Latin in the passage to Romance.
Three parameters play a role in the spread of the accusative into the functional domains of the nominative for non-object, core arguments: semantic (the inactive nature of the arguments), syntactic (the degree of syntactic cohesion between the argument and its predicate), pragmatic (the grammaticalization of a constituent originally denoting the topic of the clause), interacting, in the course of time, with the restructuring of the voice system.
Abstract
This paper explores the diachronic relationship between the active/neutral realignment of grammatical relations taking place in Late Latin, manifested by accusative subjects, and the temporary loss of the grammatical dimension of voice. These two clusters of changes can be shown to reflect the rise of headmarking patterns in a predominantly dependent-marking language such as Latin in the passage to Romance.
Three parameters play a role in the spread of the accusative into the functional domains of the nominative for non-object, core arguments: semantic (the inactive nature of the arguments), syntactic (the degree of syntactic cohesion between the argument and its predicate), pragmatic (the grammaticalization of a constituent originally denoting the topic of the clause), interacting, in the course of time, with the restructuring of the voice system.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Introduction: The role of semantic, pragmatic and discourse factors in the development of case ix
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Part I. Semantically and aspectually motivated synchronic case variation
- Case variation in Gothic absolute constructions 3
- Some semantic and pragmatic aspects of object alternation in Early Vedic 23
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Part II. Discourse motivated subject marking
- The case of the shifty ergative marker: A pragmatic shift in the ergative marker of one Australian mixed language 59
- How useful is case morphology? The loss of the Old French two-case system within a theory of Preferred Argument structure 93
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Part III. Reduction or expansion of case marker distribution
- The development of case in Germanic 123
- A usage-based approach to change: Old Russian possessive constructions 161
- Lacking in Latvian: Case variation from a cognitive and constructional perspective 181
- Verb classes and dative objects in Insular Scandinavian 203
- Transitive adjectives in Japanese 225
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Part IV. Case syncretism motivated by syntax, semantics or language contact
- Patterns of development, patterns of syncretism of relational morphology in the Bodic languages 261
- The evolution of local cases and their grammatical equivalent in Greek and Latin 283
- Argument structure and alignment variations and changes in Late Latin 307
- Case loss in Texas German: The influence of semantic and pragmatic factors 347
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Part V. Case splits motivated by pragmatics, metonymy and subjectification
- Semantic role to new information in Meithei 377
- From less personal to more personal: Subjectification of ni -marked NPs in Japanese discourse 401
- Author index 423
- Subject index 427
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Introduction: The role of semantic, pragmatic and discourse factors in the development of case ix
-
Part I. Semantically and aspectually motivated synchronic case variation
- Case variation in Gothic absolute constructions 3
- Some semantic and pragmatic aspects of object alternation in Early Vedic 23
-
Part II. Discourse motivated subject marking
- The case of the shifty ergative marker: A pragmatic shift in the ergative marker of one Australian mixed language 59
- How useful is case morphology? The loss of the Old French two-case system within a theory of Preferred Argument structure 93
-
Part III. Reduction or expansion of case marker distribution
- The development of case in Germanic 123
- A usage-based approach to change: Old Russian possessive constructions 161
- Lacking in Latvian: Case variation from a cognitive and constructional perspective 181
- Verb classes and dative objects in Insular Scandinavian 203
- Transitive adjectives in Japanese 225
-
Part IV. Case syncretism motivated by syntax, semantics or language contact
- Patterns of development, patterns of syncretism of relational morphology in the Bodic languages 261
- The evolution of local cases and their grammatical equivalent in Greek and Latin 283
- Argument structure and alignment variations and changes in Late Latin 307
- Case loss in Texas German: The influence of semantic and pragmatic factors 347
-
Part V. Case splits motivated by pragmatics, metonymy and subjectification
- Semantic role to new information in Meithei 377
- From less personal to more personal: Subjectification of ni -marked NPs in Japanese discourse 401
- Author index 423
- Subject index 427
