GONE WITHOUT THE VERB: CLITIC INTERPOLATION AND CLITIC CLIMBING IN THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN PORTUGUESE

Autor(es)

de Andrade, Aroldo Leal ; Namiuti-Temponi, Cristiane

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Cadernos de Estudos Lingüísticos; v. 58, n. 2, p. 201-219, MAY-AUG 2016.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Previous studies have reported that clitic interpolation and clitic climbing change according to three stages in the history of European Portuguese. In this paper we develop the idea that these phenomena are deeply intertwined, once they are related through the notion `clitic position'. In order to provide a unified explanation for interpolation and climbing, we follow a quantitative methodology using the Tycho Brahe Corpus of Historical Portuguese. Considering that clitic position reflects the category hosting the clitic, we argue that the availability of XP interpolation and of obligatory clitic climbing in Old Portuguese reflect more basic structural principles, such as V-to-Fin movement and cl-to-Force movement, which is dependent on the role of left-peripheral elements in Old Portuguese grammar. In other words, clitics could occur either in Force or in Fin, in order to mark their relative presuppositional nature with respect to different left-peripheral elements. In Classical Portuguese, we argue that XP interpolation was replaced by Neg interpolation because of the loss of V-to-Fin movement in embedded contexts, a period when clitic climbing started to reflect a number of criteria related to topicality. Finally, in Modern European Portuguese the gradual loss of Neg interpolation and the marked status of clitic climbing can be understood as consequences related to the loss of V-to-Fin movement across the board. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 12/06078-9 - A língua portuguesa no tempo e no espaço: contato linguístico, gramáticas em competição e mudança paramétrica
• Beneficiário: Charlotte Marie Chambelland Galves
• Linha de fomento: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático