Portuguese Relative Clauses in Synchrony and Diachrony (Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics)

This book explores language variation and change from the perspective of generative syntax, based on a case study of relative clauses in contemporary European Portuguese and earlier stages of Portuguese. Adriana Cardoso offers a comparative account of three linguistic phenomena in the synchrony and diachrony of Portuguese-remnant-internal relativization, extraposition of restrictive relative clauses, and appositive relativization-and shows that the changes affecting these structures conspired to reduce the patterns of nominal discontinuity available in the language. Adopting a cross-linguistic perspective, she additionally shows that this series of changes transformed Portuguese from a 'Germanic-like' language, with a wide range of phrasal discontinuities, to a 'non-Germanic type', with more restricted patterns of discontinuity. The volume will be of particular interest to scholars working on Portuguese syntax, but also to Romance linguists and all those interested in historical and comparative syntax more widely. Cover Portuguese Relative Clauses in Synchrony and Diachrony Copyright Dedication Contents Series preface Preface List of figures and tables Figures Tables List of abbreviations 1: Introduction 1.1 Overview of the book 1.2 Data and methods 1.2.1 Data collection 1.2.2 Formal analysis 1.2.3 Transcription and reference conventions 1.3 Theoretical framework 1.3.1 Theory of grammar 1.3.1.1 The architecture of grammar 1.3.1.2 Phrase structure 1.3.1.3 Linear order 1.3.1.4 Clause structure 1.3.1.5 Movement and features 1.3.2 Syntax of relative clauses 1.3.2.1 Preliminaries 1.3.2.2 Definition of relative clause 1.3.2.3 The restrictive/appositive dichotomy 1.3.2.4 Syntax of restrictive relative clauses A. Adjunction analysis B. Raising analysis (a) Binding theory (b) Quantifier binding (c) Scope assignment (d) Idioms (e) Degree relatives (f) The interpretation of adjectival modifiers (g) Head-internal relatives 1.3.2.5 Syntax of appositive relative clauses A. Orphanage analyses vs. constituency analyses B. Specifying coordination analysis (a) A coordination account of apposition (b) A coordination account of appositive relatives (c) Some properties of appositive relatives derived (i) Scope of the determiner (ii) Reconstruction effects (iii) Opacity for binding (d) The expansion of the specifying coordination analysis (i) Predictions of the specifying coordination analysis (ii) Overview of the construction types C. The raising analysis (a) Some properties of appositive relatives derived (i) Scope of the determiner (ii) Idioms (iii) Opacity for binding 1.3.3 Information structure 1.3.3.1 Focus 1.3.3.2 Focus and prosody 1.3.3.3 Topic 1.3.3.4 Topicalization and focalization 1.3.4 Language change 2: Remnant-internal relativization 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Noun phrase discontinuity 2.2.1 Core properties (1) Order of the split parts (2) Prosody (3) Number of the split parts (4) Syntactic environment 2.2.2 Empirical evidence from Latin and earlier stages of Portuguese 2.2.3 Competing analyses 2.2.3.1 Movement analyses A. Simple movement analyses B. Regeneration C. Remnant movement D. Distributed deletion 2.2.3.2 Base-generation analyses 2.3 Remnant-internal relativization 2.3.1 Core properties (i) Syntactic type of relative clause (ii) Number of the split parts (iii) Order of the split parts (iv) Elements in the first split part (v) Elements in the second split part (vi) Position of the second split part 2.3.2 Information structure 2.3.3 Word order 2.3.4 Competing analyses 2.3.4.1 Adjunction analysis of restrictives + movement analysis of discontinuous noun phrases 2.3.4.2 Adjunction analysis of restrictives + base-generation analysis of discontinuous noun phrases 2.3.4.3 Raising analysis of RRCs + movement analysis of discontinuous noun phrases 2.3.4.4 Raising analysis of RRCs + base-generation analysis of discontinuous noun phrases 2.3.5 Remaining problems 2.4 Analysis of remnant-internal relativization 2.4.1 On the copy theory of movement in the Phonological Form side 2.4.1.1 Bosković and Nunes (2007) 2.4.1.2 Stjepanović (2007) 2.4.2 The derivation of remnant-internal relativization 2.4.2.1 Pattern I 2.4.2.2 Pattern II A. PF requirement I B. PF requirement II 2.4.2.3 Pattern III 2.5 Diachronic path of remnant-internal relativization 2.6 Conclusion 3: Extraposition of restrictive relative clauses 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Competing analyses 3.2.1 Rightward adjunction analyses 3.2.2 Stranding analyses 3.2.3 Coordination analyses 3.2.4 Unitary vs. non-unitary approaches 3.3 Portuguese: Previous scholarship 3.4 Properties in contrast 3.4.1 Contemporary European Portuguese 3.4.1.1 The definiteness effect 3.4.1.2 Pre-verbal positions A. Pre-verbal subjects B. Discourse dedicated positions in the left periphery 3.4.1.3 Prepositional phrases 3.4.1.4 Summary 3.4.2 Cross-linguistic evidence 3.4.2.1 The definiteness effect 3.4.2.2 Pre-verbal positions A. Pre-verbal subjects B. Discourse dedicated positions in the left periphery 3.4.2.3 Prepositional phrases 3.4.2.4 Summary 3.4.3 Earlier stages of Portuguese 3.4.3.1 The definiteness effect 3.4.3.2 Pre-verbal positions A. Pre-verbal subjects B. Discourse dedicated positions in the left periphery C. Scrambled objects 3.4.3.3 Prepositional phrases 3.4.3.4 Summary 3.5 A proposal for contemporary European Portuguese 3.5.1 The stranding analysis 3.5.1.1 Extraposition derived by movement to the left periphery 3.5.1.2 Extraposition derived from short scrambling A. Excursus on subject and object scrambling (a) Distribution of adverbs (b) Semantic effects (c) Discourse and prosody B. Deriving relative clause extraposition from short scrambling (a) Distribution of adverbs (b) Semantic effects (c) Discourse and prosody 3.5.1.3 Deriving the intervening material A. Deriving the occurrence of adverbs and PPs in the intervening position (a) Modifiers in the intervening position (b) Complements in the intervening position B. Blocking other constituents in the intervening position (a) Subject in the intervening position (b) Direct object in the intervening position 3.5.2 Deriving the relevant properties 3.5.2.1 The definiteness effect A. Indefiniteness effect of the relative trace B. Licensing of the strong determiner 3.5.2.2 Pre-verbal positions A. Pre-verbal subjects B. Discourse dedicated positions in the left periphery 3.5.2.3 Prepositional phrases 3.5.2.4 Summary 3.5.3 Problems A. Extraposition from strong noun phrases B. Extraposition from prepositional phrases C. Ungrammaticality of the source structure D. Constraints on the surface position of extraposed RRCs E. Extraposition from subjects F. Emptiness of the VP G. Mirror effects H. VP-topicalization I. Extraposition from split antecedents 3.5.3.1 Summary 3.5.4 Conclusion 3.6 A proposal for earlier stages of Portuguese 3.6.1 The specifying coordination analysis 3.6.1.1 Koster (2000) 3.6.1.2 De Vries (2002) 3.6.2 Deriving the relevant properties 3.6.2.1 The definiteness effect 3.6.2.2 Pre-verbal positions A. Pre-verbal subjects B. Discourse dedicated positions in the left periphery C. Scrambled objects 3.6.2.3 Prepositional phrases 3.6.2.4 Summary 3.6.3 Problems 3.6.4 Summary 3.7 Comparative perspective 3.7.1 Diachronic path 3.7.1.1 Hypothesis I (a) Step 0 (b) Step 1 (c) Step 2a (d) Step 2b (e) Step 3 3.7.1.2 Hypothesis II 3.7.1.3 Hypothesis III 3.7.2 Cross-linguistic contrasts 3.8 Conclusion 4: Appositive relativization 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Unitary analyses vs. nonunitary analyses 4.2.1 Cinque (1982) 4.2.2 Smits (1988) 4.2.3 Bianchi (1999) 4.2.4 Cinque (2008) 4.3 Properties of o qual-appositive relatives 4.3.1 The relative pronoun o qual 4.3.2 Contemporary European Portuguese 4.3.3 Earlier stages of Portuguese 4.4 Contrasting properties of o qual-appositive relatives 4.4.1 Internal head 4.4.1.1 Contemporary European Portuguese 4.4.1.2 Cross-linguistic evidence 4.4.1.3 Earlier stages of Portuguese A. Properties of the additional internal head (a) Categorial nature of the internal head (b) Semantic class of the nominal internal head (c) Relation between the antecedent and the internal head (d) Expansion of the internal head (e) Contexts of occurrence 4.4.2 Extraposition 4.4.2.1 Cross-linguistic evidence 4.4.2.2 Contemporary European Portuguese A. The definiteness effect B. Pre-verbal positions B1. Pre-verbal subjects B2. Discourse dedicated positions in the left periphery C. Prepositional phrases D. Extraposition across conjuncts E. Extraposition across discourse 4.4.2.3 Earlier stages of Portuguese A. The definiteness effect B. Pre-verbal positions B1. Pre-verbal subjects B2. Discourse dedicated positions in the left periphery B3. Scrambled objects C. Prepositional phrases D. Extraposition across conjunct(s) E. Extraposition across clauses F. Extraposition across the discourse 4.4.3 Pied-piping A. Contemporary European Portuguese B. Cross-linguistic evidence C. Earlier stages of Portuguese (a) The chronology (b) The position of the relative pronoun (c) The clause types involved 4.4.4 Clausal antecedent A. Contemporary European Portuguese B. Earlier stages of Portuguese C. Cross-linguistic evidence 4.4.5 Split antecedents A. Contemporary European Portuguese B. Cross-linguistic evidence C. Earlier stages of Portuguese 4.4.6 Coordination of the wh-pronoun with another Determiner Phrase A. Contemporary European Portuguese B. Cross-linguistic evidence C. Earlier stages of Portuguese 4.4.7 Illocutionary force A. Contemporary European Portuguese B. Cross-linguistic evidence C. Earlier stages of Portuguese 4.4.8 Coordinator A. Contemporary European Portuguese B. Cross-linguistic evidence C. Earlier stages of Portuguese 4.4.9 Summary 4.5 Deriving the contrasting properties 4.5.1 Internal head 4.5.2 Extraposition A. The definiteness effect B. Pre-verbal positions B1. Pre-verbal subjects B2. Restriction on extraposition from other pre-verbal positions C. Prepositional phrases D. Extraposition across conjuncts E. Extraposition across discourse 4.5.3 Pied-piping 4.5.4 Clausal antecedent 4.5.5 Split antecedents 4.5.6 Coordination of the wh-pronoun with another Determiner Phrase 4.5.7 Illocutionary force 4.5.8 Coordinator 4.5.9 Summary 4.6 Some comparative remarks 4.6.1 Diachronic path 4.6.1.1 Hypothesis I (a) Step 0 (b) Step 1 (c) Step 2 (d) Step 4 A. Excursus 4.6.1.2 Hypothesis II 4.6.2 Synchronic variation 4.6.2.1 Hypothesis I 4.6.2.2 Hypothesis II 4.6.3 Cross-linguistic contrasts 4.7 Conclusion 5: Conclusion References Primary sources Secondary sources Subject index Language index This book explores language variation and change from the perspective of generative syntax, based on a case study of relative clauses in Portuguese and other languages. It offers a comparative account of three linguistic phenomena in the synchrony and diachrony of Portuguese and an overview of competing theoretical analyses.