The main goal of this paper is to show that the flexible word order of Latin does not prevent us from fruitfully applying to Latin a set of constituency tests that have been developed in modern linguistics. Particularly, we will show that, when the concept of constituent is correctly defined, it effectively applies to Latin. We will do so by comparing English, a rigid word order language, Italian, a more flexible word order language and Latin, which is even freer. This paper is organized as follows, In section 1, we offer a brief introduction on the issues that concern the current theoretical debate on the topic. In section 2, we make a general point, namely that constituents may be formed by words that are not contiguous, at least in languages with a flexible word order. In section 3, we discuss various tests that identify VP and TP as possible constituents in Latin: these tests includes pro-form substitution, ellipsis and fragment answers. Section 4 discusses tests to identify the CP layer as a constituent: these include pro-form substitution and extraposition. In the same section we deal with a possible complication arising from the use of pro-form substitution as a constituency test but we show that it does not affect the cases we discuss. Our conclusion in Section 5 is that constituents may be discontinuous in Latin (as in other languages), they may not be easy to identify, but they do exist.
Constituency as a Language Universal: The Case of Latin
ONIGA, Renato;
2014-01-01
Abstract
The main goal of this paper is to show that the flexible word order of Latin does not prevent us from fruitfully applying to Latin a set of constituency tests that have been developed in modern linguistics. Particularly, we will show that, when the concept of constituent is correctly defined, it effectively applies to Latin. We will do so by comparing English, a rigid word order language, Italian, a more flexible word order language and Latin, which is even freer. This paper is organized as follows, In section 1, we offer a brief introduction on the issues that concern the current theoretical debate on the topic. In section 2, we make a general point, namely that constituents may be formed by words that are not contiguous, at least in languages with a flexible word order. In section 3, we discuss various tests that identify VP and TP as possible constituents in Latin: these tests includes pro-form substitution, ellipsis and fragment answers. Section 4 discusses tests to identify the CP layer as a constituent: these include pro-form substitution and extraposition. In the same section we deal with a possible complication arising from the use of pro-form substitution as a constituency test but we show that it does not affect the cases we discuss. Our conclusion in Section 5 is that constituents may be discontinuous in Latin (as in other languages), they may not be easy to identify, but they do exist.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
2014 LAM_3_Cecchetto_Oniga.pdf
accesso aperto
Tipologia:
Versione Editoriale (PDF)
Licenza:
Creative commons
Dimensione
168.13 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
168.13 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.