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Some remarks on subject positions and the architecture of the leftperiphery in Spanish

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2016

Bernhard Pöll
Bernhard Pöll*
Affiliation:
University of Salzburg
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Abstract

This article reexamines the puzzling issue of where subjects, lexical and null,are located in Spanish and offers a novel explanation for the incompatibility ofpreverbal lexical subjects with fronted focussed constituents. Both SpecIP andthe left periphery appear to be potential landing sites for subjects, accordingto discourse-pragmatic factors. Assuming that pro is a clitic,it is argued that the aforementioned incompatibility can be captured by a simplerule: SpecIP must be empty for focus fronting to occur. This is the case withpro, which adjoins to Infl, or with postverbal subjectssince they remain in SpecVP. From this analysis it follows that: 1) the subjectfield in Spanish is less articulated than is generally assumed, 2) thedifferences between Spanish and other null subject languages with respect to theavailability of preverbal subjets can be reduced to this rule and a differentordering of focus and topic phrases, and 3) it is unnecessary to posit twodifferent topic positions.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article examine l’épineuse question de la positionpréverbale occupée par le sujet lexical en espagnol et offre unenouvelle explication pour la contrainte sur la cooccurrence de sujets lexicauxet de constituants focalisés en position préverbale.S’agissant des positions sujet, il apparaît que tant lespécifieur de SI que la périphérie gauche peuvent servircomme cible de mouvement, en fonction de paramètres discursifs. Enprésumant que pro est un clitique, je soutiensqu’il est possible de ramener la contrainte ci-dessus à larègle suivante : le mouvement d’items focalisés vers lapériphérie gauche requiert que le spécifieur de SI soitvide. C’est le cas avec pro (attaché à latête de SI) et également avec les sujets postverbaux. Ils’ensuit que 1) la structure des positions sujet en espagnol est moinscomplexe qu’on ne l’affirme souvent, 2) les différencesentre l’espagnol et d’autres langues à sujet nul quantà la possibilité de sujets préverbaux se réduisentà la règle mentionnée de même qu’à unestructure différente de la périphérie gauche, et 3) iln’est pas nécessaire de postuler deux positions différentespour les topiques.

Keywords

pro-dropSpanishSVO/(XP)VS(0)left peripheryEPPpro-dropespagnolSVO/(XP)VS(0) périphérie gaucheEPP
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , November 2010 , pp. 359 - 385
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association/Association canadienne de linguistique 2010 

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