Expletive and Referential Subject Pronouns in Medieval French

154.95 €

Order
Expletive and Referential Subject Pronouns in Medieval French

Medieval French, usually analyzed as a null subject language, differs considerably from modern Romance null subject languages such as Spanish in the availability of non-expressed subject pronouns; specifically, it shows characteristics reminiscent of non-null, rather than null subject languages, such as the expression of expletive subject pronouns. The central goal of this book is to put forward an account of these differences. On the basis of the analysis of an extensive, newly established data corpus, the development of the expression of both expletive and referential subject pronouns until the 17th c. is determined. Following a thorough discussion of previous approaches, an alternative approach is presented which builds on the analysis of Medieval French as a non-null subject language. The non-expression of subject pronouns, licit in specific contexts in non-null subject languages, is shown to be restricted to configurations generally involving left-peripheral focalization. These configurations – and, concomitantly, non-expressed subject pronouns – are finally argued to be eventually lost for good in the wake of the initial observation by 17th c. writers of pertinent instructions campaigned for in highly influential works of language use.

More from the series "Linguistische Arbeiten"

More books by Michael Zimmermann

Log in to get access to this book and to automatically save your books and your progress.

Purchase this book or upgrade to dav Pro to read this book.

When you buy this book, you can access it regardless of your plan. You can also download the book file and read it in another app or on an Ebook reader.

80 % of the price goes directly to the author.

ISBN: 9783110373370

Language: English

Publication date: 19.08.2014

Number of pages: 246

Our shipping costs are a flat rate of €2.50, regardless of the order.
Currently, we only ship within Germany.

Shipping is free for PocketLib Pro users.

An error occured. Please check your internet connection or try it again later.