Abstract
French is a heavily postdetermining iambic language. This also implies that, in contrast to German, the subject-predicate sequence is dominant even though this is not a relationship of determination in the strict sense of the term. Despite the predominant iambic intonation pattern, postposition of rhematic subjects is only possible under certain conditions in modern French. This contrasts with Italian or Spanish in cases like Domani viene Maria/Mañana llega María. A French equivalent Demain vient Marie instead of Marie vient demain or also Demain Marie vient is no longer common today for reasons to be discussed. The central question to be answered is “By which means does French resolve the conflict of linearisation arising from the tension between the dominant rising intonation pattern and the ‘phobia’ of subject inversion even when the subject is rhematic?” A comparative analysis of translations is a viable method for discovering how French marks rhematic subjects when simple postposition is not a possible strategy. This approach shows how constructions with the subject in postposition, for instance in Italian, are rendered in their French translation.
