24. Basic constituent orders
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Manuel Leonetti
Abstract
The basic, unmarked order in Romance declarative clauses is SVO, and marked orders are obtained by subject inversion (VS, VOS, VSO), by fronting (OVS) and by the reordering of verbal complements. These orders express different interpretive instructions for information packaging. Cross-linguistic variation in this domain depends on how each language constrains the mapping from syntax to Information Structure, i. e. how syntax maps into informational partitions (Topic-Comment, Focus-Background). The main loci of variation in Romance concern the productivity of fronting constructions (in the particular case of non-focal fronting) and the rate and availability of subject inversion (especially in VOS and VSO patterns). A survey of these phenomena leads us to distinguish between a group of “restrictive” languages, basically comprising French, Catalan and Italian (Central Romance), and a group of “permissive” languages that includes European Portuguese, Spanish and Romanian. The same factors underlying synchronic variation are relevant to explain diachronic changes in word order.
Abstract
The basic, unmarked order in Romance declarative clauses is SVO, and marked orders are obtained by subject inversion (VS, VOS, VSO), by fronting (OVS) and by the reordering of verbal complements. These orders express different interpretive instructions for information packaging. Cross-linguistic variation in this domain depends on how each language constrains the mapping from syntax to Information Structure, i. e. how syntax maps into informational partitions (Topic-Comment, Focus-Background). The main loci of variation in Romance concern the productivity of fronting constructions (in the particular case of non-focal fronting) and the rate and availability of subject inversion (especially in VOS and VSO patterns). A survey of these phenomena leads us to distinguish between a group of “restrictive” languages, basically comprising French, Catalan and Italian (Central Romance), and a group of “permissive” languages that includes European Portuguese, Spanish and Romanian. The same factors underlying synchronic variation are relevant to explain diachronic changes in word order.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
- Table of Contents VII
- Abbreviations XI
- 1. Introduction 1
-
The verbal domain
- 2. Subjects 27
- 3. Objects 89
- 4. Argument structure and argument structure alternations 154
- 5. Clitic pronouns 183
- 6. Voice and voice alternations 230
- 7. Auxiliaries 272
- 8. Causative and perception verbs 299
- 9. Copular and existential constructions 332
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The clausal and sentential domains
- 10. Infinitival clauses 369
- 11. Tense, aspect, mood 397
- 12. Negation and polarity 449
- 13. Dislocations and framings 472
- 14. Focus Fronting 502
- 15. Cleft constructions 536
- 16. Interrogatives 569
- 17. Exclamatives, imperatives, optatives 603
- 18. Coordination and correlatives 647
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The nominal domain
- 19. Gender and number 691
- 20. Determination and quantification 727
- 21. Adjectival and genitival modification 771
- 22. Relative clauses 804
-
Typological aspects
- 23. Syntheticity and Analyticity 839
- 24. Basic constituent orders 887
- List of Contributors 933
- Index 941
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
- Table of Contents VII
- Abbreviations XI
- 1. Introduction 1
-
The verbal domain
- 2. Subjects 27
- 3. Objects 89
- 4. Argument structure and argument structure alternations 154
- 5. Clitic pronouns 183
- 6. Voice and voice alternations 230
- 7. Auxiliaries 272
- 8. Causative and perception verbs 299
- 9. Copular and existential constructions 332
-
The clausal and sentential domains
- 10. Infinitival clauses 369
- 11. Tense, aspect, mood 397
- 12. Negation and polarity 449
- 13. Dislocations and framings 472
- 14. Focus Fronting 502
- 15. Cleft constructions 536
- 16. Interrogatives 569
- 17. Exclamatives, imperatives, optatives 603
- 18. Coordination and correlatives 647
-
The nominal domain
- 19. Gender and number 691
- 20. Determination and quantification 727
- 21. Adjectival and genitival modification 771
- 22. Relative clauses 804
-
Typological aspects
- 23. Syntheticity and Analyticity 839
- 24. Basic constituent orders 887
- List of Contributors 933
- Index 941
