Clitic impersonal constructions in Romance: syntactic features and semantic interpretation

This paper provides an overview of the syntax and semantics of Romance clitic impersonal constructions (CL-ICs), as present in the grammars of Spanish and Italian, within the framework of the Minimalist Program. Syntactically, these structures are characterised by the presence of the clitic se/si, w...

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Published inTransactions of the Philological Society Vol. 106; no. 2; pp. 290 - 336
Main Author Mendikoetxea, Amaya
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2008
Subjects
Clitics
Italian
Minimalist Program
Person
Spanish
Syntactic Structures
Syntax Semantics Relationship
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ISSN0079-1636
1467-968X
DOI10.1111/j.1467-968X.2008.00210.x

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Summary:This paper provides an overview of the syntax and semantics of Romance clitic impersonal constructions (CL-ICs), as present in the grammars of Spanish and Italian, within the framework of the Minimalist Program. Syntactically, these structures are characterised by the presence of the clitic se/si, which is analysed as a 0-person clitic, along with other person clitics in Romance, and heads a functional projection in the temporal domain immediately above T(ense). The syntactic properties of CL-ICs can be accounted for with reference to the complex agreement operations involving the clitic se/si, the empty category in subject position (a null generic pronoun: G-pro), the object argument in transitive contexts, and the features of the heads T and v. The interpretation of CL-ICs crucially relies on the presence of G-pro in the specifier position of vP: it introduces a variable that can be bound by an existential or a universal quantifier, which accounts for the variable quantificational force of CL-ICs. Adapted from the source document
Bibliography:This research was carried out during my stay in the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University as a visiting researcher (2006-7). Funding by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (grant PR2006-0054 and grant HUM2005-01728) is gratefully acknowledged. I am indebted to Paul Rowlett, editor of Transactions of the Philological Society, for help throughout the submission process and to the guest editor of this volume, Anna Siewierska, whose work is always an inspiration. I am also grateful to Iván Teomiro for interesting discussions on some of the topics dealt with here. Many improvements in the present version are due to the insightful comments and helpful suggestions of four anonymous reviewers. All remaining mistakes are, of course, mine.
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ISSN:0079-1636
1467-968X
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-968X.2008.00210.x