Syntactic features of medieval Hispano-Romance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven N. Dworkin
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Standard Language ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Object Marking ◽  
Syntactic Differences ◽  
Modern Standard

This chapter describes selected issues of noun phrase, verb phrase, and sentential syntax. It emphasizes differences between the selected constructions in Old Spanish and in the modern standard language. Specific issues discussed include the function of determiners, the use of subject pronouns, the preverbal or postverbal placement of clitic object pronouns, direct object marking, and issues involving subject-verb-object and noun-adjective word order. The section on verbal syntax examines the use of the present, imperfect, and preterit tenses in medieval Hispano-Romance, the syntax of analytic or compound tenses, the syntactic differences between the synthetic and analytic futures, the syntax and semantics of the subjunctive, and the syntax of aver/tener and ser/estar.

A Guide to Old Spanish

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven N. Dworkin
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Standard Language ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Sound System ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
And Function ◽  
Linguistic Structures ◽  
Verb Tense ◽  
Modern Standard

This book describes the linguistic structures that constitute Medieval or Old Spanish as preserved in texts written prior to the beginning of the sixteenth century. It emphasizes those structures that contrast with the modern standard language. Chapter 1 presents methodological issues raised by the study of a language preserved only in written sources. Chapter 2 examines questions involved in reconstructing the sound system of Old Spanish before discussing relevant phonetic and phonological details. The chapter ends with an overview of Old Spanish spelling practices. Chapter 3 presents in some detail the nominal, verbal, and pronominal morphology of the language, with attention to regional variants. Chapter 4 describes selected syntactic structures, with emphasis on the noun phrase, verb phrase, object pronoun placement, subject-verb-object word order, verb tense, aspect, and mood. Chapter 5 begins with an extensive list of Old Spanish nouns, adjectives, verbs, and function words that have not survived into the modern standard language. It then presents examples of coexisting variants (doublets) and changes of meaning, and finishes with an overview of the creation of neologisms in the medieval language through derivational morphology (prefixation, suffixation, compounding). The book concludes with an anthology composed of three extracts from Spanish prose texts, one each from the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. The extracts contain footnotes that highlight relevant morphological, syntactic, and lexical features, with cross references to the relevant sections in the body of the book.

scholarly journals Bhadarwahi: A Typological Sketch

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-148
Author(s):  
Amitabh Vikram DWIVEDI
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Distinctive Feature ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Prominent Feature ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Dominant Language ◽  
Indirect Object ◽  
Main Verb

This paper is a summary of some phonological and morphosyntactice features of the Bhadarwahi language of Indo-Aryan family. Bhadarwahi is a lesser known and less documented language spoken in district of Doda of Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir State in India. Typologically it is a subject dominant language with an SOV word order (SV if without object) and its verb agrees with a noun phrase which is not followed by an overt post-position. These noun phrases can move freely in the sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence. The indirect object generally precedes the direct object. Aspiration, like any other Indo-Aryan languages, is a prominent feature of Bhadarwahi. Nasalization is a distinctive feature, and vowel and consonant contrasts are commonly observed. Infinitive and participle forms are formed by suffixation while infixation is also found in causative formation. Tense is carried by auxiliary and aspect and mood is marked by the main verb.

The origin of Spanish entre tú y yo “between you and me”

Diachronica ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Rini
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Syntactic Change ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Historical Grammar

The present study analyzes both diachronically and typologically the synchronically irregular Spanish syntagm, entre tú y yo “between you and me”, which employs the subject pronouns, tú and yo, rather than the expected prepositional pronouns, ti and mí. First, a thorough examination of Old Spanish texts reveals that the Old Spanish syntagm did indeed exhibit prepositional pronouns, i.e., OSp. entre mí & ti (a fact virtually unknown to specialists of Spanish historical grammar), thus unveiling a syntactic change from entre mí & ti > entre tú y yo. Next, the change is compared to the typologically similar ongoing change in Modern English, namely, between you and me > between you and I. It is then shown here that although the change in these languages appears, on the surface, to be an exact parallel, the origin, or cause, of the change in each language is different. Nevertheless, certain factors — including the ultimate inability of the preposition to govern the second of two conjoined elements, as well as word-order patterns of the subject pronouns — were indeed found to have played a role in the development of both entre tú y yo and between you and I.

scholarly journals SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF THE WRITTEN MONUMENT IN SELKUP «CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE TRUE GOD AND TRUE FAITH IN THE DIALECT OF OB OSTYAKS» (1900) BY ST. MACARIUS (NEVSKY)

2020 ◽  
pp. 44-57
Author(s):  
Сергей Васильевич Ковылин
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Russian Translation ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Locative Case ◽  
The Russian Language

Данная работа посвящена описанию особенностей синтаксиса одного из первых памятников южноселькупской письменности, записанных св. Макарием (Невским) «Беседы об истинном Боге и истиной вере на наречии обских остяков». Анализируемый материал относится к средне¬обскому диалекту селькупского языка. Перевод памятника на селькупский был сделан св. Макарием с алтайского языка, а к тексту приложен буквальный русский перевод. Текст памятника был проанализирован на выявление порядков следования в нем основных элементов предложения: S — субъект, V — предикат, O — прямой объект. Доминирующими порядками слов текста памятника являются SOV, SV и OV, что соответствует порядку слов в самодийский языках в целом и в селькупском в частности. В тексте памятника распространены специальные конструкции, состоящие из имперфектного деепричастия и глагола и нефинитные клаузы с именами действия в локативном падеже для выражения обстоятельства времени. При сравнении с более современными среднеобскими текстами конструкции с имперфектным деепричастием и глаголом по-прежнему частотны, в то время как примеры с именем действия в локативном падеже отсутствуют. Вместо них используются финитные клаузы с союзами или союзными словами. Бессоюзный тип связи однородных членов предложения и сложносочиненных предложений сочетается в памятнике с параллельным использованием союзов и союзных слов, что в диахроническом аспекте можно рассматривать как развивающуюся инновацию. При сравнении с более поздними материалами по среднеобским говорам шёшкумов / шёшкупов можно утверждать, что использование союзов и союзных слов закрепилось в них. The aim of this work is to describe the syntactic features of one of the first written monuments in southern Selkup by St. Macarius (Nevsky) «Conversations About the True God and True Faith in the Dialect of Ob Ostyaks». The analyzed material is included in the Central-Ob dialect of the Selkup language. The translation of the monument into Selkup was made by St. Macarius from the Altaic language. The literal Russian translation is also attached to the text. The text of the monument was analyzed to identify the order of the main constituents of the sentence: S — subject, V — predicate, O — direct object. The dominant word orders of the text are SOV, SV и OV, which fully correspond to the word order in Samoyedic languages in general and in Selkup in particular. Special constructions consisting of an imperfect converb and a verb, as well as infinite clauses with a nomen actionis in the locative case to express the circumstance of time, are spread in the text. When compared with modern Middle-Ob texts, constructions with imperfect converbs and verbs are still frequent, while examples with a nomen actionis in the locative case are absent. Instead of them finite clauses with the connectives and connective words are used. The conjunctionless link type of the homogeneous parts of the sentence, as well as of complex sentences, is common. Connectives and connective words, including those borrowed from the Russian language, are also used. Comparing the obtained data with modern materials on the Middle-Ob dialect, no significant changes are noted in this aspect. The conjunctionless link type of the homogeneous parts of the sentence, as well as of complex sentences, is combined with parallel use of connectives and connective words, including those borrowed from the Russian language. Comparing the obtained data with modern materials on the Middle-Ob dialect, the use of connectives and connective words gained a foothold.

scholarly journals El comportamiento de los verbos haber y ser en función de auxiliar de los tiempos compuestos (siglos XIII-XVII)

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 99-112
Author(s):  
Ágnes Idrisz
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
The Other ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
Xvii Century ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Different Ages ◽  
The One

In the old Spanish language the usage of the compound tenses formed with the auxiliary ’haber’ and the participle form shows several differences compared to today’s usage. It turns out from fragments from the XIII-XVII. centuries that the word order of the elements in the structure was not bound: on the one hand, the participle form could come before the auxiliary, on the other hand, other parts of the sentence could be inserted between the two elements of the structure. Furthermore, the participle form could possibly be reconciled with the direct object of the sentence. The above mentioned features can be found in the earliest fragments of the ’corpus’ on a larger scale, whereas by the XVII. century – due to the grammatical progress of the structure – these features had almost completely disappeared. Another peculiarity about the development of the structure haber + participio pasado is that the occurence of the above mentioned features depended largely on the genre of the text. There is a whole range of studies available which deal with the emergence and the forms of the compound tenses. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to examine – based on the article of Concepción Company in 1983 – how much these compound tenses are present in the texts from different ages, as well as how much the frequency of their presence was influenced by the genre of the texts.

Old Spanish

2018 ◽  
pp. 87-104
Author(s):  
Sam Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Recent Criticism ◽  
Medieval Romance ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
Embedded Clauses

This chapter engages with recent criticism of Spanish’s status as a V2 language, suggesting that the criticism is ill-founded and arguing that it was a relatively strict V2 language, showing a prefield comparable to other V2 systems, Germanic-inversion, and direct object fronting without clitic resumption. Both verb-initial and verb-third orders are also shown to be heavily restricted in certain later Old Spanish texts when compared to other Medieval Romance V2 varieties. The chapter challenges the notion that Old Spanish was a symmetrical V2 language, presenting quantitative data that it showed word order asymmetries between matrix and embedded clauses, which are typical of asymmetric V2 systems such as Modern German and Dutch.

scholarly journals Accessibility and word order: The case of ditransitive constructions in Persian

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pegah Faghiri ◽  
Pollet Samvelian ◽  
Barbara Hemforth
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Relative Length ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Corpus Study ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
Object Marking ◽  
Ditransitive Constructions

In a most recent corpus study on Persian, Faghiri & Samvelian (2014) found a significant effect of relative length in the ordering preferences between the direct and indirect objects in the preverbal domain corresponding to "long-before-short". They furthermore showed that the position of the direct object mainly depends on its degree of determination, and put into question the broadly accepted dual view based solely on differential object marking. In this paper, we provide experimental evidence in support of these corpus findings and further propose a unified account of ordering preferences between the two objects on the basis of conceptual accessibility.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of the Simple Clause in Akan, Dagaare and English

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Levina Nyameye Abunya ◽  
Edward Owusu ◽  
Faustina Marius Naapane
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Significant Variation ◽  
Language Family ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Basic Word ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb

The paper compares how the simple clause is expressed in Akan (Kwa, Niger-Congo), Dagaare (Gur, Niger-Congo) and English. It examines the simple clause in relation to noun phrase, verbal phrases, adpositional phrases, basic word order in declarative and focus constructions, and the basic locative construction. Basically, the study reveals that despite the differences, Akan and Dagaare have a lot in common as compared to English. This of course shows how distant English is from the two African languages. Certain linguistic features such as serial verb construction and focus constructions were unique to Akan and Dagaare and this, is not surprising since languages within the same language family (Niger Congo) tend to share certain lexical, phonological, morphological and syntactic features. The significant variation between these languages shows where Akan and Dagaare languages diverge into other sub-family groups: Kwa and Gur, respectively.

scholarly journals Clitic doubling of the proposed direct object in Bulgarian

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bilyana Ovcharova
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Clitic Doubling ◽  
Syntactic Function ◽  
Case Markers

Clitic doubling of the proposed direct object in Bulgarian The presence or absence of accusative clitic doubling in Bulgarian clauses with direct object preposing serves grammatical or pragmatic purposes and falls within the discussion on word order, in particular the analysis of clauses exhibiting marked word order.Grammatical doubling occurs in clauses where the clitics are part of the verb’s morphological make-up and in clauses where the clitics serve as case markers for disambiguating the syntactic function of the initial noun phrase (NP). Pragmatic clitic doubling does not affect the clause grammaticality or in terms of semantics: it serves as a topicality marker, signaling the discourse-old status of the preposed NPs’ referents or is used to activate such referents. Pragmatic clitic doubling may occur with focused discourse-old NPs, which at first sight may appear as an inconsistency: one would expect that the topic and focus should be identified differently. In Bulgarian pragmatic accusative clitic doubling is not admissible only when the preposed NP realizes contrastive, emphatic focus. Podwajanie klityki zaimkowej dopełnienia bliższego w języku bułgarskim Podwajanie klityki zaimkowej dopełnienia bliższego w języku bułgarskim (jej obecność lub brak) służy funkcji gramatycznej lub pragmatycznej i wiąże się z zagadnieniem szyku wyrazów, zwłaszcza we frazach nacechowanych na szyk.Repryza występuje w funkcji gramatycznej w wyrażeniach, w których klityki stanowią część frazy werbalnej i służą ujednoznacznieniu funkcji składniowej frazy nominalnej, występującej w pozycji inicjalnej w zdaniu. Czynniki pragmatyczne nie naruszają kształtu gramatycznego czy semantyki frazy: pragmatyczne podwajanie służy topikalizacji, sygnalizując status referenta poprzedzającej frazy nominalnej, lub służy do aktywacji takiego referenta. Pragmatyczna repryza może wystąpić po frazie nominalnej, która jest specjalnie wyróżniona (in focus), co na pierwszy rzut oka może się wydawać niekonsekwencją: oczekiwalibyśmy raczej, że temat (topic) i fokus (specjalny akcent) powinny być identyfikowane językowo w sposób różny. W języku bułgarskim pragmatyczne podwajanie obiektu jest niedopuszczalne jedynie wówczas, gdy poprzedzająca fraza nominalna służy funkcji kontrastywnej, tj. wyrażaniu specjalnej emfazy.

Pragmatics for Latin

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Devine ◽  
Laurence D. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Informational Content ◽  
Compositional Process ◽  
Association With Focus ◽  
Narrow Scope ◽  
Order Language ◽  
Free Word

Latin is often described as a free word order language, but in general each word order encodes a particular information structure: in that sense, each word order has a different meaning. This book provides a descriptive analysis of Latin information structure based on detailed philological evidence and elaborates a syntax-pragmatics interface that formalizes the informational content of the various different word orders. The book covers a wide ranges of issues including broad scope focus, narrow scope focus, double focus, topicalization, tails, focus alternates, association with focus, scrambling, informational structure inside the noun phrase and hyperbaton (discontinuous constituency). Using a slightly adjusted version of the structured meanings theory, the book shows how the pragmatic meanings matching the different word orders arise naturally and spontaneously out of the compositional process as an integral part of a single semantic derivation covering denotational and informational meaning at one and the same time.

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