On the raising of the finite verb in Chilean Spanish

• Grant number: 23/17225-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Aquiles Tescari Neto
• Grantee: Ana Letícia Riffo Wechsler
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem (IEL). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In Generative Syntax, an important line of research assumes that adverbs are specifiers of functional categories rigidly ordered in the sentence structure (Laenzlinger 1996; Alexiadou 1997; Cinque 1999; among others). In the vein of Pollock (1989), this branch of studies assumes that the verb (V) and its arguments raise over adverbs, which are therefore assumed as important resources to detect the position of other constituents. The main goal of this project is to study the raising of the finite V in the following tenses: simple present, simple past and simple future in Chilean Spanish (CS), taking on the Cartographic Programme (Cinque 1999; Cinque & Rizzi 2010; Shlonsky 2010; Laenzlinger 2011; Rizzi & Cinque 2016; Tescari Neto 2021) of the Principles and Parameters theory. To do so, it turns to adverbs as diagnostic tools to determine to which projection the finite V (in these different verb tenses) goes, either obligatorily or optionally. We adopt the premise that the inflectional domain (IP/TP/the Middlefield) is a functional zone within sentence structure, having more than 30 functional projections that represent different syntactic-semantic categories (Cinque 1999). Our research hypothesis, built on cartographic work on verb raising in other languages, is that the position the main V may come to occupy varies according to its tense. The option for studying V raising in CS is justified in light of the fact that cartographic literature already counts on investigations on the topic in Italian, French, Madrid Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan, Angolan Portuguese, Mozambican Portuguese, among others, but it apparently still lacks descriptions of CS (the candidate's mother tongue). The adverbs from Cinque's hierarchy will be used in order to test the position of the finite main V in the three aforementioned tenses. It is expected that this will allow us to (i) understand whether the valuation of features from the middlefield hierarchy motivates V raising in EC, and (ii) accurately pinpont the different landing positions of the finite V in the three verb tenses indicated in this variety of Spanish.