Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0001
Chiara Gianollo
This chapter discusses the two indefinites that have been treated as specific indefinites in scholarship on Classical Latin: quidam ‘a certain’ and aliquis ‘some (or other)’. While with quidam the referent is introduced as known to the speaker, aliquis expresses ignorance on the part of the speaker with respect to the exact identity of the discourse referent. As concerns quidam, the pragmatic conditions it obeys in Classical and Late Latin are examined, and possible causes for the fact that it is not continued in Romance are discussed. In the case of aliquis, it is argued that a better description of its semantic properties can be reached by treating it as an epistemic indefinite. In Late Latin some of the distributional constraints to which it was subject in the Classical language disappear: aliquis extends into polarity contexts, preluding the behavior of its Romance continuations.
{"title":"The grammar of indefinites","authors":"Chiara Gianollo","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0001","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter discusses the two indefinites that have been treated as specific indefinites in scholarship on Classical Latin: quidam ‘a certain’ and aliquis ‘some (or other)’. While with quidam the referent is introduced as known to the speaker, aliquis expresses ignorance on the part of the speaker with respect to the exact identity of the discourse referent. As concerns quidam, the pragmatic conditions it obeys in Classical and Late Latin are examined, and possible causes for the fact that it is not continued in Romance are discussed. In the case of aliquis, it is argued that a better description of its semantic properties can be reached by treating it as an epistemic indefinite. In Late Latin some of the distributional constraints to which it was subject in the Classical language disappear: aliquis extends into polarity contexts, preluding the behavior of its Romance continuations.","PeriodicalId":275376,"journal":{"name":"Indefinites between Latin and Romance","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121630095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0004
Chiara Gianollo
This chapter is a study of Latin indefinites in direct-negation contexts. These indefinites are interesting from a theoretical point of view because of their extreme dependence on the surrounding structural conditions, and because of the variety of their instantiations in different linguistic systems. Two phenomena of Latin grammar with wide-ranging implications for the development of Romance indefinites are discussed: the syntax of negation and the diachronic pathways followed by indefinites interacting with it. Latin is a Double Negation language, whereas Early Romance exhibits Negative Concord. The study proposes that this typological shift is linked to another major change from Latin to Romance, namely the change from OV to VO. Late Latin is analyzed as a ‘concealed’ nonstrict Negative Concord language, in which restrictions in the use of the ‘old’ negative indefinites emerge, as well as new patterns with (new) negative-polarity items.
{"title":"Indefinites and negation in the history of Latin","authors":"Chiara Gianollo","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0004","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter is a study of Latin indefinites in direct-negation contexts. These indefinites are interesting from a theoretical point of view because of their extreme dependence on the surrounding structural conditions, and because of the variety of their instantiations in different linguistic systems. Two phenomena of Latin grammar with wide-ranging implications for the development of Romance indefinites are discussed: the syntax of negation and the diachronic pathways followed by indefinites interacting with it. Latin is a Double Negation language, whereas Early Romance exhibits Negative Concord. The study proposes that this typological shift is linked to another major change from Latin to Romance, namely the change from OV to VO. Late Latin is analyzed as a ‘concealed’ nonstrict Negative Concord language, in which restrictions in the use of the ‘old’ negative indefinites emerge, as well as new patterns with (new) negative-polarity items.","PeriodicalId":275376,"journal":{"name":"Indefinites between Latin and Romance","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126464278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0005
Chiara Gianollo
This chapter explores some determining factors for the development of indefinites participating in Negative Concord from Latin to Romance (with special attention to Old French and Old Italian). In particular, the discussion concentrates on the subclass of Romance n-words formed with the negative morpheme ne- / ni- < Latin nec. In its role as building block of the new indefinites, nec is a negative scalar focus particle meaning ‘even not’ (a use that first emerges in Post-Classical Latin); the cardinal numeral unus provides the scalar end point. With nec specific syntactic patterns are observed that quite systematically result in the redundant expression of negation, this occurring already in Classical Latin. These structures are easily prone to reanalysis once the prerequisites for Negative Concord are present. The chapter provides a reconstruction of how the facts emerging from Latin may help toward an improved understanding of optional Negative Concord in Early Romance.
{"title":"Developments in negative and polarity-sensitive contexts from Latin to Romance","authors":"Chiara Gianollo","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780198812661.003.0005","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter explores some determining factors for the development of indefinites participating in Negative Concord from Latin to Romance (with special attention to Old French and Old Italian). In particular, the discussion concentrates on the subclass of Romance n-words formed with the negative morpheme ne- / ni- < Latin nec. In its role as building block of the new indefinites, nec is a negative scalar focus particle meaning ‘even not’ (a use that first emerges in Post-Classical Latin); the cardinal numeral unus provides the scalar end point. With nec specific syntactic patterns are observed that quite systematically result in the redundant expression of negation, this occurring already in Classical Latin. These structures are easily prone to reanalysis once the prerequisites for Negative Concord are present. The chapter provides a reconstruction of how the facts emerging from Latin may help toward an improved understanding of optional Negative Concord in Early Romance.","PeriodicalId":275376,"journal":{"name":"Indefinites between Latin and Romance","volume":"136 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127499712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0002
Chiara Gianollo
This chapter introduces and motivates the research topics. The centrality of indefinite pronouns and determiners for a number of theoretical questions concerning the grammar of nominal phrases is discussed, and it is argued that a diachronic analysis may help shed light on some of the categories involved. The comparative study of diachronies, which is approached by analyzing the historical processes that took place from Latin to the Romance languages, promises to disclose new perspectives on the determinants of variation. At the same time, the phenomena observed in the empirical domain of indefinites are strong indicators of the fact that change at the syntax-semantics interface also proceeds systematically and follows recurrent patterns, as has been shown for phonological and syntactic change. The chapter discusses which challenges we face in this respect, and what can be gained when the theoretical analysis of variation is combined with the investigation of the diachronic dimension.
{"title":"Specific and epistemic indefinites in Latin","authors":"Chiara Gianollo","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0002","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter introduces and motivates the research topics. The centrality of indefinite pronouns and determiners for a number of theoretical questions concerning the grammar of nominal phrases is discussed, and it is argued that a diachronic analysis may help shed light on some of the categories involved. The comparative study of diachronies, which is approached by analyzing the historical processes that took place from Latin to the Romance languages, promises to disclose new perspectives on the determinants of variation. At the same time, the phenomena observed in the empirical domain of indefinites are strong indicators of the fact that change at the syntax-semantics interface also proceeds systematically and follows recurrent patterns, as has been shown for phonological and syntactic change. The chapter discusses which challenges we face in this respect, and what can be gained when the theoretical analysis of variation is combined with the investigation of the diachronic dimension.","PeriodicalId":275376,"journal":{"name":"Indefinites between Latin and Romance","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127783744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0003
Chiara Gianollo
This chapter investigates some crucial steps in the evolution of the continuations of Latin aliquis ‘some (or other)’ in the Standard Romance languages. These historical developments represent parallel instantiations of the Quantifier Cycle, a process of change involving indefinites which is well-attested crosslinguistically. The guiding hypothesis is that emphatic strengthening is a decisive factor in the Quantifier Cycle, much like what is observed with the development of negation in Jespersen’s Cycle. What the Quantifier Cycle and Jespersen’s Cycle have in common is the fact that focus interacts with the implicatures triggered by the lexical items in certain grammatical contexts (most notably and clearly, negation) and this results in systematic meaning effects that become conventionalized (grammaticalized) in the course of time. In this case study from the history of Romance, the emphatic semantic component leads to a peculiar grammaticalization pattern also involving the syntactic structure of the DP hosting the indefinite.
{"title":"Aliquis from Latin to Romance","authors":"Chiara Gianollo","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0003","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter investigates some crucial steps in the evolution of the continuations of Latin aliquis ‘some (or other)’ in the Standard Romance languages. These historical developments represent parallel instantiations of the Quantifier Cycle, a process of change involving indefinites which is well-attested crosslinguistically. The guiding hypothesis is that emphatic strengthening is a decisive factor in the Quantifier Cycle, much like what is observed with the development of negation in Jespersen’s Cycle. What the Quantifier Cycle and Jespersen’s Cycle have in common is the fact that focus interacts with the implicatures triggered by the lexical items in certain grammatical contexts (most notably and clearly, negation) and this results in systematic meaning effects that become conventionalized (grammaticalized) in the course of time. In this case study from the history of Romance, the emphatic semantic component leads to a peculiar grammaticalization pattern also involving the syntactic structure of the DP hosting the indefinite.","PeriodicalId":275376,"journal":{"name":"Indefinites between Latin and Romance","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115941963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0006
Chiara Gianollo
This chapter summarizes the main conclusions reached through the investigation of Latin indefinites and of their Romance continuations. In the case studies under analysis, the process of change originates from phenomena taking place already in Late Latin. In particular, developments affecting the syntax of negation in Late Latin play a fundamental role, triggering lexical renewal and functional shifts in the domain of indefinites. It is frequently the case that Romance languages, while sharing significant similarities, differ profoundly from Classical Latin: for the cases discussed here, they ‘differentiate in parallel’ because they inherit from Late Latin the fundamental prerequisites for later changes. The results of this study, thanks to the interplay of theoretical and diachronic linguistics, confirm the systematic nature of change at the syntax–semantic interface.
{"title":"Conclusions","authors":"Chiara Gianollo","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198812661.003.0006","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter summarizes the main conclusions reached through the investigation of Latin indefinites and of their Romance continuations. In the case studies under analysis, the process of change originates from phenomena taking place already in Late Latin. In particular, developments affecting the syntax of negation in Late Latin play a fundamental role, triggering lexical renewal and functional shifts in the domain of indefinites. It is frequently the case that Romance languages, while sharing significant similarities, differ profoundly from Classical Latin: for the cases discussed here, they ‘differentiate in parallel’ because they inherit from Late Latin the fundamental prerequisites for later changes. The results of this study, thanks to the interplay of theoretical and diachronic linguistics, confirm the systematic nature of change at the syntax–semantic interface.","PeriodicalId":275376,"journal":{"name":"Indefinites between Latin and Romance","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128162022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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