Split Intransitivity in Italian

This book deals with split intransitivity in Italian, providing an in-depth investigation of the selection of the perfective operator, experiencer predicates, si-constructions, agreement, ne-cliticization, past-participle behaviour and word order. The author proposes that the manifestations of split intransitivity in Italian, whilst being variously constrained by well-formedness conditions on the encoding of information structure, primarily derive from the tension between accusative and active alignment. Drawing upon insights provided by Role and Reference Grammar, and relying on crossdialectal comparison and corpus-based evidence, this study makes new empirical and theoretical contributions to the debate on split intransitivity. It will be of interest to researchers in Italian and Romance linguistics, typology and theoretical linguistics.

Acknowledgements

vii

Abbreviations

xiii

1. Introduction

1

1.1 Split intransitivity: An introduction

1

1.2 Split intransitivity in Italian

7

1.3 The diagnostics

11

1.4 Role and Reference Grammar

14

2. Perfective operators

29

2.1 The problem

29

2.2 The markedness of the Privileged Syntactic Argument

32

2.3 Avere or essere?

41

2.4 Crossdialectal and crosslinguistic variation

55

2.4.1 The ESSE-based distribution

56

2.4.1.1 The diachronic development of the ESSE-based distribution

59

2.4.1.2 The ESSE-based distribution vis-à-vis split intransitivity

61

2.4.2 The HABERE-based distribution

64

2.4.2.1 The spread and generalization of HABERE

64

2.4.2.2 The systematic nature of variation

69

2.4.2.3 Crossdialectal and crosslinguistic variation: Conclusion

73

2.5 Complex predicates

73

2.5.1 Class-(ii) aspectuals

75

2.5.2 Class-(i) aspectuals and modals

80

2.5.3 Series of modals and aspectuals

86

2.5.4 Si-constructions with complex predicates

89

2.5.5 Complex predicates: Conclusion

90

2.6 Conclusion

90

3. Experiencer predicates

93

3.1 Introduction

93

3.1.1 Three types of experiencer predicate

94

3.2 Type-(i) experiencer predicates

96

3.3 Type-(ii) experiencer predicates

101

3.4 Type-(iii) experiencer predicates

111

3.5 Conclusion

119

4. Si-constructions and unexpressed arguments

121

4.1 Introduction

121

4.2 Reflexives

122

4.2.1 Italian clitic reflexives: Preliminary classification

124

4.2.2 Causative and anticausative reflexives

126

4.2.3 Non-causative reflexives

137

4.2.4 Analytic passivization and causativization

141

4.2.5 Reflexive experiencer verbs

145

4.2.6 Semantics-syntax mapping in reflexive predications

149

4.3 Impersonal si-constructions

158

4.3.1 Si-impersonals

158

4.3.2 Si-passives

164

4.3.3 Middles

169

4.3.4 Reflexive si-impersonal and si-passive constructions

173

4.4 Unexpressed arguments

181

4.5 Conclusion

185

5. Agreement

187

5.1 Introduction

187

5.2 The agreement of perfective and passive past participles

189

5.3 Variability and change in perfective past-participle agreement

194

5.3.1 How happy is trigger-happy agreement in non-monadic reflexives?

200

5.3.2 Morphological harmony

204

5.3.3 Wh-arguments

207

5.3.4 Conclusion

209

5.4 Non-finite agreement in complex predicates

210

5.4.1 Past-participle agreement in complex predicates with aspectual and modal units

211

5.4.2 Past-participle agreement in complex predicates with causative and perception verbs

218

5.4.3 Activity vs. active-accomplishment alternations

221

5.4.4 Conclusion

223

5.5 Non-finite agreement in absolute participles

224

5.6 Non-finite agreement in constructions with adjectival and nominal predicates

227

5.7 Finite agreement: Crossdialectal evidence

230

5.7.1 Evidence from Logudorese and Nuorese Sardinian

231

5.7.2 Finite agreement in Italian

237

5.7.3 Finite vs. non-finite agreement: Conclusion

239

5.8 Agreement in crossdialectal perspective

240

5.8.1 The agreement of the perfective past participle with the PSA and split intransitivity

244

5.8.1.1 Abruzzese, Sicilian and Marchigiano

245

5.8.2 Adverbial agreement

247

5.9 Conclusion

248

6. Ne-cliticization

251

6.1 Introduction

251

6.2 Canonical ne-cliticization

253

6.2.1 Focus structure

254

6.2.2 Semantic representation

258

6.2.3 A note on ne-cliticization in complex predicates

261

6.3 Some putative exceptions

267

6.3.1 A red herring

269

6.3.1.1 Comparative evidence

279

6.3.1.2 Semantics-syntax mapping

283

6.3.2 Ne-cliticization in constructions with activity predicates: Conclusion

285

6.4 Constructions with non-verbal predicates

286

6.4.1 Constructions with adjectival predicates

289

6.4.2 Constructions with locative and nominal predicates

298

6.4.3 Ne-cliticization in matrix coding as PSA or non-PSA

300

6.4.4 Non-verbal predicates: Conclusion

303

6.5 Ne-cliticization in si-constructions

306

6.6 Other functions of ne

313

6.7 Conclusion

320

7. Past participles

323

7.1 Introduction

323

7.2 Attributive past participles: Restrictive and descriptive constructions

326

7.3 Predicative past participles: Passive and resultative constructions

339

7.3.1 Apparently problematic data

344

7.4 Passive and resultative venire 'come' and andare 'go'

346

7.5 Predicative past participles: Absolute constructions

350

7.6 Compounds with ben(e) or mal(e) plus a participle

358

7.7 Conclusion

360

8. Word order

363

8.1 Introduction

363

8.2 Word order and split intransitivity

364

8.3 The interaction of syntax with discourse

368

8.4 Intransitive constructions with a postnuclear PSA

371

8.4.1 Contrastive focus on the postnuclear PSA

374

8.4.2 Non-contrastive focus on the postnuclear PSA

376

8.4.3 Locative inversion

382

8.4.4 Non-contrastive VS order and ne-cliticization

391

8.5 Conclusion

394

9. Conclusion

397

Notes

403

References

423

Index

451

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Split Intransitivity in Italian

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