Within the current discussion on grammatical interfaces, the word-classes of adjective and adverb are of particular interest because they appear to be separated or joined in manifold ways at the ...level of word-class or syntax, with morphology playing a prominent role, especially in Romance. The volume provides typological and theoretical insights into the common or different usage of adjectives and adverbs in Romance. Diachronic change is discussed alongside with synchronic variation and the representation in grammar. The discussion turns out to be controversial, calling into question traditional assumptions such as the dogma of the invariability and the categorial status of the adverb.
This book presents an analysis of the difficulties faced by native speakers of English in the learning of Romance languages and in so doing proposes a comprehensive model of the acquisition of ...tense-aspect marking. While L1 speakers of English may quickly learn to identify and, to some extent, use the Spanish perfective and imperfective verb endings, the L2 representation of tense-aspect distinctions among both beginning and advanced learners requires a comprehensive multidimensional analysis. Through a detailed examination of new and existing empirical data, this monograph proposes a new model for examining tense-aspect marking in second language acquisition, which reconciles competing, alternative hypotheses. This comprehensive account will be of interest to academics researching second language acquisition and applied linguistics.
This chapter presents an empirical study of the left periphery of Basic Discourse Units, viz. the linguistic segments that speakers and hearers use to interpret the discourse they are engaged in. A ...Basic Discourse Unit is bound by the mapping of a syntactic (dependency) structure and a major intonation unit, giving rise to different types of discourse units (congruent, syntax-bound, intonation-bound, regulatory). Focusing on the discourse units' Left Peripheral Elements, which are again defined in syntactic and prosodic terms, we show that they fulfil different discourse structuring roles.
This volume features fourteen papers by leading specialists on various aspects of historical morpho-syntax in the Ibero-Romance languages. In these papers, fine-grained analyses are developed to ...capture the richness of undiscussed or -often- previously unknown data. Comparative across the (Ibero-)Romance languages and diverse in terms of the approaches considered, ranging from cognitive-functionalist to generativist to variationist, they combine in this volume to showcase the merits of different, yet complementary, perspectives in understanding linguistic variation and language change. The gamut of phenomena scrutinised varies from morpho-phonological puzzles and word-formation to syntax and interface-related phenomena to, as a coda, methodological suggestions for future research in old Ibero-Romance; thus making it ideal reading for scholars and postgraduate students alike.
In Dynamics of Morphological Productivity, Francesco Gardani explores the evolution of the productivity of the noun inflectional classes of Latin and Old Italian, providing a wealth of cleverly ...organized empirical facts, accompanied by brilliant and groundbreaking analyses.
Spanish constructions of telic motion with manner verbs are somewhat problematic for the Talmian typology, while also posing a challenge for constructionist frameworks anchored in English grammar. In ...response to Talmy (2000), Aske (1989), Morimoto (2008), and Beavers et al. (2010) among others, I demonstrate in this article that this construction type tends to be acceptable whenever the lexical meaning of the verb implies an element of directed motion. Drawing on Goldberg (2006) and Pedersen (2009, 2013), I suggest that schematicity is a typological parameter, and, more specifically, that the term variable type framing may accommodate the case of variation under scrutiny here.
A selection of peer-reviewed papers from 'Going Romance' 31, dealing with linguistic phenomena found in Romance languages (Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, but also Cosentino, ...Salentino, southern Calabrese, Neapolitan, and Trevigiano) and in creoles with a Romance lexifier (Makista and Kristang).
This volume contains a peer reviewed selection papers from Going Romance 32 (Utrecht 2018). The papers discuss data and formalized analyses of one or more Romance languages, with particular attention ...to variation.
Ti Alkire and Carol Rosen trace the changes that led from colloquial Latin to five major Romance languages, those which ultimately became national or transnational languages: Spanish, French, ...Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. Trends in spoken Latin altered or dismantled older categories in phonology and morphology, while the regional varieties of speech, evolving under diverse influences, formed new grammatical patterns, each creating its own internal regularities. Documentary sources for spoken Latin show the beginnings of this process, which comes to full fruition in the medieval emergence of written Romance languages. This book newly distills the facts into an appealing program of study, including exercises, and makes the difficult issues clear, taking well motivated and sometimes innovative stands. It provides not only an essential guide for those new to the topic, but also a reliable compendium for the specialist.
