4. Old Italian ditransitive constructions: between alternation and change
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Maria Napoli
Abstract
This chapter deals with the variety of alignment types, as identified by typological research, to which ditransitive verbs gave rise in Old Italian, where the Recipient may be expressed not only as an indirect object, as is proper of ditransitive constructions in Modern Italian (showing indirective alignment), but also as a direct object: this mirrors the Latin state of affairs, where neutral alignment and secundative alignment were allowed beside indirective alignment. In this contribution it will be shown how the set of changes undergone by ditransitive constructions from Latin to Modern Italian is in principle larger and more complex than previously recognized, and how Old Italian is crucial when attempting to reconstruct the diachronic paths taken by this class of verbs. In particular, the factors will be investigated which can explain evolution, partial continuity and loss in the argument structure of Italian ditransitives.
Abstract
This chapter deals with the variety of alignment types, as identified by typological research, to which ditransitive verbs gave rise in Old Italian, where the Recipient may be expressed not only as an indirect object, as is proper of ditransitive constructions in Modern Italian (showing indirective alignment), but also as a direct object: this mirrors the Latin state of affairs, where neutral alignment and secundative alignment were allowed beside indirective alignment. In this contribution it will be shown how the set of changes undergone by ditransitive constructions from Latin to Modern Italian is in principle larger and more complex than previously recognized, and how Old Italian is crucial when attempting to reconstruct the diachronic paths taken by this class of verbs. In particular, the factors will be investigated which can explain evolution, partial continuity and loss in the argument structure of Italian ditransitives.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- List of abbreviations IX
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Part 1: The nature of ditransitive arguments: the contribution of diachrony
- 1. How do ditransitives change? 1
- 2. Roles and grammatical relations in synchrony and diachrony: the case of the indirect object 19
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Part 2: Ditransitive verbs and construction alternation
- 3. The spread of the ad construction in Merovingian Latin: identifying semantic paths in the domain of ditransitives 61
- 4. Old Italian ditransitive constructions: between alternation and change 97
- 5. The emergence of the dative alternation in Dutch: towards the establishment of a horizontal link 137
- 6. Attraction and differentiation in the history of the English dative and benefactive alternations 169
- 7. The ditransitive alternation in the history of German: the case of verkaufen (‘sell’) 197
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Part 3: Ditransitives between stability and further developments
- 8. The diachrony of ditransitives in Vedic Sanskrit 231
- 9. Passives of ditransitives: the gradual rise of a Recipient passive in Italian 259
- 10. ‘Hit’ semantics and physical sensations: on the development of spontaneous event constructions with Spanish dar ‘give’ 285
- Subject Index 313
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- List of abbreviations IX
-
Part 1: The nature of ditransitive arguments: the contribution of diachrony
- 1. How do ditransitives change? 1
- 2. Roles and grammatical relations in synchrony and diachrony: the case of the indirect object 19
-
Part 2: Ditransitive verbs and construction alternation
- 3. The spread of the ad construction in Merovingian Latin: identifying semantic paths in the domain of ditransitives 61
- 4. Old Italian ditransitive constructions: between alternation and change 97
- 5. The emergence of the dative alternation in Dutch: towards the establishment of a horizontal link 137
- 6. Attraction and differentiation in the history of the English dative and benefactive alternations 169
- 7. The ditransitive alternation in the history of German: the case of verkaufen (‘sell’) 197
-
Part 3: Ditransitives between stability and further developments
- 8. The diachrony of ditransitives in Vedic Sanskrit 231
- 9. Passives of ditransitives: the gradual rise of a Recipient passive in Italian 259
- 10. ‘Hit’ semantics and physical sensations: on the development of spontaneous event constructions with Spanish dar ‘give’ 285
- Subject Index 313
