Deixis and person in the development of Greek personal pronominal paradigms
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Brian D. Joseph
Abstract
The historical development of the singular personal pronouns in Greek from the Classical language into Modern Greek is presented here with attention first of all to the ways in which sound change, analogy, and semantic change shape the paradigms. In addition, the role that the notions of deixis and person have played in these processes of change is examined, and claims that have been made in the literature, especially by Haiman 1991, about the principles that guide the emergence of weak (“clitic”) pronouns in a language are tested against the Greek developments, and ultimately found to be inadequate. Of particular note is the unusual development in latter Greek by which a weak subject pronoun was created with two, and only two, predicates. It is shown too that Modern Greek provides a basis for distinguishing between syntactically weak forms and forms that are merely phonologically weak.
Abstract
The historical development of the singular personal pronouns in Greek from the Classical language into Modern Greek is presented here with attention first of all to the ways in which sound change, analogy, and semantic change shape the paradigms. In addition, the role that the notions of deixis and person have played in these processes of change is examined, and claims that have been made in the literature, especially by Haiman 1991, about the principles that guide the emergence of weak (“clitic”) pronouns in a language are tested against the Greek developments, and ultimately found to be inadequate. Of particular note is the unusual development in latter Greek by which a weak subject pronoun was created with two, and only two, predicates. It is shown too that Modern Greek provides a basis for distinguishing between syntactically weak forms and forms that are merely phonologically weak.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction to deixis and pronouns in Romance languages 1
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Part I. Deixis and grammatical paradigms
- Deixis and person in the development of Greek personal pronominal paradigms 19
- First person strong pronouns in spoken French 33
- Preservation, modification, and innovation. Paradigmatic reorganisation of the system of personal pronouns – from Latin into Modern Italian 49
- On the grammar of kinship 69
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Part II. Deixis and impersonality
- Impersonality in Spanish personal pronouns 87
- The Spanish impersonal se -construction 109
- Diaphasic variation and change in French pronouns 125
- Clitic subjects in French text messages 147
- The use of personal deixis as an ideological instrument in Spanish political discourse 171
- Cognitive collages and other mental representations of address forms and strategies 189
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Part IV. Deixis and the verbal system
- The relevance of deixis in the description of the predicative relative clause 207
- The marking of person deixis in the French future system – a diachronic approach 227
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Part V. Deixis in a metalinguistic perspective
- Place deixis in the 16th century grammars of Italy 253
- Deixis and reference in the treatment of personal pronouns and demonstratives in Francesco Soave 273
- Name index 285
- Subject index 287
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction to deixis and pronouns in Romance languages 1
-
Part I. Deixis and grammatical paradigms
- Deixis and person in the development of Greek personal pronominal paradigms 19
- First person strong pronouns in spoken French 33
- Preservation, modification, and innovation. Paradigmatic reorganisation of the system of personal pronouns – from Latin into Modern Italian 49
- On the grammar of kinship 69
-
Part II. Deixis and impersonality
- Impersonality in Spanish personal pronouns 87
- The Spanish impersonal se -construction 109
- Diaphasic variation and change in French pronouns 125
- Clitic subjects in French text messages 147
- The use of personal deixis as an ideological instrument in Spanish political discourse 171
- Cognitive collages and other mental representations of address forms and strategies 189
-
Part IV. Deixis and the verbal system
- The relevance of deixis in the description of the predicative relative clause 207
- The marking of person deixis in the French future system – a diachronic approach 227
-
Part V. Deixis in a metalinguistic perspective
- Place deixis in the 16th century grammars of Italy 253
- Deixis and reference in the treatment of personal pronouns and demonstratives in Francesco Soave 273
- Name index 285
- Subject index 287
