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Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads
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Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 9827

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ana Ojea

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of English, French and German Philology, University of Oviedo, 33011 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
2. Departamento de Filología Inglesa, Francesa y Alemana Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Oviedo, Campus de Humanidades, 33011 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Interests: Spanish syntax; English syntax; information structure; first language acquisition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The systematic study of the relationship between discourse and syntax, which is a programmatic issue in functional theories of language, has become an object of extensive study in generative grammar in light of the importance that external interfaces with syntax have gained in the Minimalist Programme (cf. Chomsky 1995 and subsequent work), and current Minimalist and Cartographic studies now amply discuss the syntactic articulation of discursive notions and their role in derivations (cf. Rizzi 1997, Erteschik-Shir 1997, Breul 2004, López 2009, Cinque and Rizzi 2012, Miyagawa 2022, among others). Consequently, standard features of information structure, such as the different types of topics and foci (essentially correlated with what is taken to be old and new information in the sentence) are at present syntactically encoded in terms of dedicated projections, and the same applies to other pragmatic features such as evidentiality, mirativity, point of view, sentience or discourse intention, to name but a few. Cartographic analyses make extensive use of these categories, whereas more radical minimalist approaches tend to restrict them to avoid an unconstrained syntactic instantiation of pragmatic information.

In general, formal approaches to language have considerably contributed to our understanding of the syntax–discourse interface, stimulating fruitful research on questions such as the following: Which discourse-relevant information must syntax include? What is the hierarchical organization of information structure? What is the role that discursive features play in language development and variation? This Special Issue of Languages intends to add to these and other topics and thus welcomes research articles and reviews that are theory-based and/or data-driven to discuss the intersection between syntax and discourse. Potential areas of interest include but are not limited to the following:

  • The syntactic projection of discursive features—justification and restrictions
  • Structural phenomena related to discursive features
  • Discourse and the syntax of speech acts
  • The role of discursive features in language acquisition
  • The role of discursive features in language (macro and micro) variation
  • The role of discursive features in language development 

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editor ([email protected]s) or to the Languages editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Tentative Completion Schedule
Abstract Submission Deadline: 31 March 2023
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 30 April 2023
Full Manuscript Deadline: 30 April 2024

References

Breul, C. 2004. Focus Structure in Generative Grammar. An Integrated Syntactic, Semantic and Intonational Approach. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Chomsky, N. 1995. The Minimalist Program. Cambridge MA.: MIT Press.

Cinque, G. and Rizzi, L. 2012. The Cartography of Syntactic Structures. CISCL Working Papers on Language and Cognition. 2: 43–59.

Erteschik-Shir, N. 1997. The Dynamics of Focus Structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

López, L. 2009. A Derivational Syntax for Information Structure. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Miyagawa, S. 2022. Syntax in the Treetops. Cambridge MA.: MIT Press.

Rizzi, L. 1997. On the fine structure of the left periphery. In: Belletti, A., Rizzi, L. (Eds.), Elements of Grammar. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 281–337.

Dr. Ana Ojea
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • syntax–discourse interface
  • information structure
  • discursive features
  • speech act

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 818 KiB  
Article
Towards a Typology of Zero Aboutness: Expletive A in Fornese and Chiru in Cilentano
by Simone De Cia and Mariangela Cerullo
Languages 2024, 9(2), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9020060 - 07 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1019
Abstract
This paper investigates the syntactic–pragmatic behavior of two expletive-like elements, namely a and chiru, in Fornese and Cilentano, two Romance varieties spoken in Northern and Southern Italy, respectively. We argue that a and chiru are not bona fide expletive subjects but discourse-pragmatic [...] Read more.
This paper investigates the syntactic–pragmatic behavior of two expletive-like elements, namely a and chiru, in Fornese and Cilentano, two Romance varieties spoken in Northern and Southern Italy, respectively. We argue that a and chiru are not bona fide expletive subjects but discourse-pragmatic expletives, which mark zero aboutness or the absence of an aboutness referent in an utterance. The investigation of Fornese and Cilentano points towards the existence of a sub-class of null-subject languages where aboutness as a discourse feature must be structurally satisfied by merging an overt or null topic in the syntactic spine of the clause. In the absence of such an element—for example, in thetic clauses—a discourse-pragmatic expletive is externally merged as a last-resort strategy to satisfy [uAboutness]. We argue that, in these null-subject languages, the satisfaction of the discourse feature [uAboutness] is an LF requirement, which is subject to a parametric choice. We show that, in Fornese, “default” [aboutness] is satisfied in SubjP, which is the canonical syntactic position for overt subjects within a cartographic approach. In Cilentano, on the other hand, [aboutness] is satisfied in a higher position within the C-domain, namely ShiftP, the canonical syntactic position that hosts overt aboutness/shift topics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads)
19 pages, 1839 KiB  
Article
Agreement and Information Structure in Spanish PRO[PL] with-DP
by María Mare
Languages 2024, 9(2), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9020058 - 06 Feb 2024
Viewed by 954
Abstract
This paper aims to revisit a construction found in some Spanish varieties which refers to a set constituted by a singular referent and an annex introduced by the item con ‘with’: PRO(noun)[PL] with-DP. This construction triggers plural agreement and can [...] Read more.
This paper aims to revisit a construction found in some Spanish varieties which refers to a set constituted by a singular referent and an annex introduced by the item con ‘with’: PRO(noun)[PL] with-DP. This construction triggers plural agreement and can be doubled by a plural pronoun, indicating that the annex is included in the set to which verbal agreement and the plural pronoun refer. For example, Nosotros con Juan viajamos ayer (literally, ‘We with Juan travelled.1PL yesterday’) means ‘Juan and I travelled yesterday’. We explore the Spanish PRO[PL] with-DP, taking into account its discursive properties together with the syntactic requirements involved in the agreement patterns. In fact, although the two individuals denoted by this construction are involved as equal participants in the event, they have a different discursive status: one of them introduces new information, while the other refers to the immediate communicative situation. If some notions regarding information structure can be coded by binary features such as [+/−anaphor] and [+/−contrast], it is possible to find plurality triggered by the opposite combination of features within the same syntactic object. PRO[PL] with-DP is a possibility that the lexicons of some languages offer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads)
12 pages, 330 KiB  
Article
Complementizer Agreement and the Licensing of DPs: An Account in Terms of Referential Anchoring
by Roland Hinterhölzl
Languages 2024, 9(2), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9020049 - 29 Jan 2024
Viewed by 966
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that the phenomenon of complementizer agreement in West Germanic and the distribution of DPs in German can be given a common explanation in terms of an approach in which context values are not freely assigned via an interpretive [...] Read more.
In this paper, I argue that the phenomenon of complementizer agreement in West Germanic and the distribution of DPs in German can be given a common explanation in terms of an approach in which context values are not freely assigned via an interpretive function operation, as is assumed in standard accounts of formal semantics, but rather, they become accessible in a specific functional head in the C-domain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads)
23 pages, 2547 KiB  
Article
Microvariation at the Interfaces: The Subject of Predication of Broad Focus VS Constructions in Turinese and Milanese
by Delia Bentley and Francesco Maria Ciconte
Languages 2024, 9(2), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9020037 - 24 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1122
Abstract
Presentational constructions, i.e., structures which introduce an event into the universe of discourse, raise the question of what it means for a predication to be entirely new in information structural terms. While there is growing consensus that these constructions are not topicless, there [...] Read more.
Presentational constructions, i.e., structures which introduce an event into the universe of discourse, raise the question of what it means for a predication to be entirely new in information structural terms. While there is growing consensus that these constructions are not topicless, there is no agreement on how to analyse their topic. The Romance languages of Northern Italy have figured prominently in this debate because the presentational constructions of many such languages exhibit VS order and an etymologically locative clitic in subject clitic position. This clitic has been claimed to be a subject of predication in a syntactic subject position. Adducing primary comparative evidence from Milanese and Turinese, we discuss patterns of microvariation which suggest that the etymologically locative clitic need not be a syntactic subject and can mark an aboutness topic provided by the discourse situation alone. We propose a parallel-architecture, Role and Reference Grammar account whereby the microvariation under scrutiny is captured in terms of the interfaces that are involved in the parsing of utterances. This account considers discourse to be an independent module of grammar, which, alongside the semantic and syntactic modules, is directly involved in linguistic variation and change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads)
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21 pages, 2212 KiB  
Article
Middle-Passive Constructions, Dative Possessors, and Word Order in Spanish
by Imanol Suárez-Palma
Languages 2024, 9(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9010015 - 27 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1978
Abstract
This paper examines data from Spanish middle-passive sentences whose grammatical subject contains a body-part noun, externally possessed by means of a dative possessor. I advocate for an analysis whereby the possessor originates inside the theme DP and raises to the specifier of an [...] Read more.
This paper examines data from Spanish middle-passive sentences whose grammatical subject contains a body-part noun, externally possessed by means of a dative possessor. I advocate for an analysis whereby the possessor originates inside the theme DP and raises to the specifier of an applicative projection to be licensed with dative case. I show that the unmarked order for dative DPs in these configurations is preverbal. These phrases may appear as the sole preverbal constituent, presumably in preverbal subject position, thus forcing the theme DP to remain inside the VP; alternatively, both the dative DP and theme DP can occur preverbally, in which case, the former appears to be left dislocated while the latter would be probed to preverbal subject position. This last scenario leads to a minimality violation, since the theme would be probed over the empty pronominal standing for the possessor that must necessarily sit in Spec, ApplP for the inalienable possession construal to obtain. Instead, I argue that both preverbal dative and theme DPs in Spanish middle-passive sentences are left dislocated and corefer with empty pronominals inside the sentence; the null dative possessor, being closer to T° always raises to subject position, which avoids any potential intervention effects. Finally, I explore how these data can be analyzed within a paratactic approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads)
23 pages, 1820 KiB  
Article
Inferential Interrogatives with qué in Spanish
by Ángel L. Jiménez-Fernández and Mercedes Tubino-Blanco
Languages 2023, 8(4), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8040282 - 30 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1480
Abstract
In this paper, we discuss the evidential properties of inferential interrogative sentences with qué in Spanish. This interrogative type exhibits the shape of a wh-question but the interpretation of a polar question. These sentences have the additional particularity that they are interrogatives [...] Read more.
In this paper, we discuss the evidential properties of inferential interrogative sentences with qué in Spanish. This interrogative type exhibits the shape of a wh-question but the interpretation of a polar question. These sentences have the additional particularity that they are interrogatives with evidential material, which are attested but not frequent crosslinguistically, if compared with declarative evidentials. An interesting consequence of their double interrogative and evidential nature is the fact that both discourse participants have a prominent role in the interpretation of these sentences, as the Speaker makes the inference but the Addressee is requested for confirmation. To account for the construction, we assume a multiple-layered system that includes both Speech Act projection and Finiteness projection. In these two areas we simultaneously find evidential material housing the Speaker’s inference, and a raised Addressee in its prominent interrogative position as the participant with the knowledge to provide the requested confirmation of the interrogative’s truth value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads)
23 pages, 1173 KiB  
Article
Cº realizations along the left edge across English and Spanish
by Julio Villa-García
Languages 2023, 8(4), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8040268 - 14 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1241
Abstract
This paper investigates the lexicalization of the complementizer that/que in English and Spanish varieties in different contexts along the left edge of the clause. This is performed through discussion of a range of constructions traditionally attributed to the CP domain/left periphery, primarily (but [...] Read more.
This paper investigates the lexicalization of the complementizer that/que in English and Spanish varieties in different contexts along the left edge of the clause. This is performed through discussion of a range of constructions traditionally attributed to the CP domain/left periphery, primarily (but not only) in certain embedded clauses. The ubiquity of that/que, that is, the lexical realization of that/que in subordinating environments, exclamative clauses, interrogative contexts, and subjunctive clauses, amongst others, sheds light not only on the characterization of the relevant constructions but also on the make-up of the left edge of the clause. The fact that such realizations can be obligatory, optional, or, on occasion, impossible, sometimes depending on the variety in question, furthers our understanding of head lexicalizations while contributing to macro and microvariation studies in syntactic theory. In so doing, this paper paves the way for holistic investigations devoted to complementizer realization in the head position of different left-edge-related constructions and in different linguistic varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Syntax and Discourse at the Crossroads)
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