1887
Volume 32, Issue 1
  • ISSN 0774-5141
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9676
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

The goal of this contribution is to deepen our knowledge of French cleft sentences through the study of a special category of clefts called . The issues that we will address concern their form, discourse frequency and boundaries with resembling structures. In order to shed light on these issues, we start by defining the concept of from a morphosyntactic and functional point of view. We then present a corpus-based description of the categories of adverbials that can be cleaved. Finally, we propose a general semantic principle capable of describing and explaining, in a coherent and unitary way, both the data obtained in our empirical study and found in the form of constructed examples in the existing literature. In addition to explaining why certain adverbials can be cleaved while others cannot, this principle also allows for a distinction to be made between two syntactic realizations of the structure ‘c’est Adv que p’, as well as for a solution to the controversial issue of the status of domain adverbials.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/bjl.00017.dec
2019-01-21
2025-04-22
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ackema, Peter
    2015 “Arguments and Adjuncts”. InSyntax. Theory and Analysis. An International Handbook, ed. byTibor Kiss, and Artemis Alexiadou, 246–274. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Bally, Charles
    1932Linguistique générale et linguistique française. Bern: Francke.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Carter-Thomas, Shirley
    2009 “The French c’est-cleft: Function and frequency”. InLa linguistique systémique fonctionnelle et la langue française, ed. byDavid Banks, Simon Eason, and Janet Ormrod, 127–156. Paris: l’Harmattan.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Cinque, Guglielmo
    1999Adverbs and Functional Heads. A Cross-linguistic Perspective. Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. 2006 “Issues in adverbial syntax”. InRestructuring and Functional Heads. The Cartography of Syntactic Structures, vol.4, ed. byGuglielmo Cinque, 119–144. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. De Cesare, Anna-Maria
    2014 “Cleft Constructions in a contrastive perspective. Towards an operational taxonomy”. InFrequency, Forms and Functions of Cleft Constructions in Romance and Germanic. Contrastive, corpus-based studies, ed. byAnna-Maria De Cesare, pp.9–48. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. 2015 “Defining Focusing Modifiers in a cross-linguistic perspective. A discussion based on English, German, French and Italian”. InAdverbs – Functional and Diachronic Aspects, ed. byKarin Pittner, Daniela Elsner, and Fabian Barteld, 47–81. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/slcs.170.03ces
    https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.170.03ces [Google Scholar]
  8. 2016a “Les phrases clivées de l’italien en contact avec le français. Une analyse basée sur les textes diffusés sur le portail swissinfo.ch”. InZwischen den Texten: die Übersetzung an der Schnittstelle von Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft, ed. byChristina Ossenkop, and Georgia Veldre-Gerner, 121–136.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. 2016b “Per una tipologia semantico-funzionale degli avverbiali. Uno studio basato sulla distribuzione informativa degli avverbi (in -mente) negli enunciati dell’italiano parlato”. Linguistica e Filologia36: 27–68.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. 2017 “Cleft constructions”. InManual of Romance Morphosyntax and Syntax, ed. byAndreas Dufter, and Elisabeth Stark, 536–568. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter. doi:  10.1515/9783110377088‑015
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110377088-015 [Google Scholar]
  11. De Cesare, Anna-Maria, and Davide Garassino
    2015 “On the status of exhaustiveness in cleft sentences: An empirical and cross-linguistic study of English also- / only-clefts and Italian anche- / solo-clefts”. Folia Linguistica49 (1): 1–56. doi:  10.1515/flin‑2015‑0001
    https://doi.org/10.1515/flin-2015-0001 [Google Scholar]
  12. De Cesare, Anna-Maria, Davide Garassino, Rocío Agar Marco, and Laura Baranzini
    2014 “Form and frequency of Italian Cleft constructions in a corpus of electronic news. A comparative perspective with French, Spanish, German and English”. InFrequency, Forms and Functions of Cleft Constructions in Romance and Germanic. Contrastive, corpus-based Studies, ed. byAnna-Maria De Cesare, 49–99. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. De Cesare, Anna-Maria, Davide Garassino, Rocío Agar Marco, Ana Albom, and Doriana Cimmino
    2016Sintassi marcata dell’italiano dell’uso medio in prospettiva contrastiva con il francese, lo spagnolo, il tedesco e l’inglese. Uno studio basato sulla scrittura dei quotidiani online. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. De Cesare, Anna-Maria, and Davide Garassino
    2018 “Adverbial cleft sentences in Italian, French and English. A comparative perspective”. InFocus Realization and Interpretation in Romance and Beyond, ed. byMarco García García, and Melanie Uth, 255–286. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 10.1075/slcs.201.09dec
    https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.201.09dec [Google Scholar]
  15. Dik, Simon C., Kees Hengeveld, Elseline Vester, and Co Vet
    1990 “The hierarchical structure of the clause and the typology of adverbial satellites”. InLayers and Levels of Representation in Language Theory, ed. byJan A. Nuyts, Machtelt Bolkestein, and Co Vet, 25–70. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/pbns.13.04dik
    https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.13.04dik [Google Scholar]
  16. Doherty, Monika
    1983 “The epistemic meaning of questions and statements”. InQuestions and Answers, ed. byFerenc Kiefer, 15–44. Dordrecht, Reidel. doi:  10.1007/978‑94‑009‑7016‑8_3
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7016-8_3 [Google Scholar]
  17. Dufter, Andreas
    2008 “On explaining the rise of c’est-clefts in French”. InThe Paradox of Grammatical Change: Perspectives from Romance, ed. byUlrich Detges, and Richard Waltereit, 31–56. Amsterdam-Philadelphia: Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/cilt.293.03duf
    https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.293.03duf [Google Scholar]
  18. Franckel, Jean-Jacques
    1989Étude de quelques marqueurs aspectuels du français. Genève: Droz.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Greenbaum, Sidney
    1969Studies in English Adverbial Usage. Florida: University of Miami Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Guimier, Claude
    1996Les adverbes du français, le cas des adverbes en -ment. Paris: Ophrys.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Halliday, Michael A. K.
    1974 “La base fonctionnelle du langage”. Langages34: 54–73. doi:  10.3406/lgge.1974.2259
    https://doi.org/10.3406/lgge.1974.2259 [Google Scholar]
  22. Hasselgård, Hilde
    2010Adjunct Adverbials in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:  10.1017/CBO9780511676253
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511676253 [Google Scholar]
  23. Hermoso Mellado-Damas, Adelaida
    2015 “Les adverbes de domaine et l’expression de la modalité assertive”. Anales de Filología Francesa23: 109–123.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Lahousse, Karen, and Béatrice Lamiroy
    2015 “C’est ainsi que: grammaticalisation ou lexicalisation ou les deux à la fois?” Journal of French Language Studies: 1–25. doi:  10.1017/S0959269515000381 [accessed16.11.2016].
    https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959269515000381 [Google Scholar]
  25. Lambrecht, Knud
    1994Information Structure and Sentence Form: Topic, Focus and the Mental Representations of Discourse Referents. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:  10.1017/CBO9780511620607
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620607 [Google Scholar]
  26. 2001 “A framework for the analysis of cleft constructions”. Linguistics39 (3): 463–516. doi:  10.1515/ling.2001.021
    https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.2001.021 [Google Scholar]
  27. Léard, Jean-Marcel
    1992Les gallicismes. Étude syntaxique et sémantique. Paris and Louvain-La-Neuve: Duculot.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Mertens, Piet
    2013 “A classification of French adverbs based on distributional, syntactic and prosodic criteria”. Lingvisticae Investigationes36 (2): 201–228. 10.1075/li.36.2.02mer
    https://doi.org/10.1075/li.36.2.02mer [Google Scholar]
  29. Molinier, Claude, and Françoise Lévrier
    2000Grammaire des adverbes. Description des formes en -ment. Genève-Paris: Droz.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Mørdrup, Ole
    1976 “Sur la classification des adverbes en -ment”. Revue RomaneXI (2): 317–333.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Motsch, Wolfgang
    1970 “Ein Typ von Emphasesätzen”. InVorschläge für eine strukturale Grammatik des Deutschen, ed. byHugo Steger, 88–108. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Naegeli Frutschi, Urs
    1987Les adverbes de phrase: leur définition et leur emploi en français contemporain. Zürich: Zentralstelle der Studentenschaft.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Nøjgaard, Morten
    1992, 1993, 1995Les adverbes français. Essai de description fonctionnelle, 3vols.Historisk-filosofiske Meddelelser66: 1, 2, 3, Copenhagen, Munksgaard.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Nølke, Henning
    1983Les adverbes paradigmatisants: Fonction et analyse. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. 1990 “Les adverbes contextuels: problèmes de classification”. Langue française88: 12–27. doi:  10.3406/lfr.1990.5749
    https://doi.org/10.3406/lfr.1990.5749 [Google Scholar]
  36. 1993Le regard du locuteur. Paris: Kimé.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Pusch, Claus D.
    2006 “Marqueurs discursifs et subordination syntaxique: La construction inférentielle en français et dans d’autres langues romanes”. InLes marqueurs discursifs dans les langues romanes. Approches théoriques et méthodologiques, ed. byMartina Drescher, and Barbara Frank-Job, 173–188. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Quirk, Randolph et al.
    1972A Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. 1985A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Ramat, Paolo, and Davide Ricca
    1998 “Sentence adverbs in the languages of Europe”. InAdverbial Constructions in the Languages of Europe, ed. byJohan van der Auwera, and Dónall P. Ó Baoill, 187–275. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter. doi:  10.1515/9783110802610.187
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110802610.187 [Google Scholar]
  41. Rizzi, Luigi
    2004 “Locality and the left periphery”. InStructures and Beyond. The Cartography of Syntactic Structures, vol.3, ed. byAdriana Belletti, 104–131. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Roggia, Carlo Enrico
    2008 “Frasi scisse in italiano e francese orale: evidenze dal C-ORAL-ROM”. Cuadernos de filología italiana15: 9–29.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Schlyter, Suzanne
    1977 La place des adverbes en -ment en français. PhD thesis, Universität Konstanz.
  44. Tesnière, Lucien
    1959Éléments de syntaxe structurale. Paris: Klincksieck.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Van Raemdonck, Dan
    1999 “l’adverbe de domaine-point de vue est-il un adverbe de phrase?”. Orbis Linguarum11: 101–112.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Vendler, Zeno
    1957 “Verbs and Times”. The Philosophical Review66 (2): 143–160. doi:  10.2307/2182371
    https://doi.org/10.2307/2182371 [Google Scholar]
  47. Wehr, Barbara
    2011 “La phrase clivée en français: problèmes de description”. InSyntaxe, structure informationnelle et organisation du discours dans les langues romanes, ed. byAndreas Dufter, and Daniel Jacob, 189–214. Bern: Peter Lang.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. 2016 “Some remarks on different classifications of cleft constructions and their areal distribution”. InCurrent Issues in Italian, Romance and Germanic Non-canonical Word Orders. Syntax – Information Structure – Discourse Organization, ed. byAnna-Maria De Cesare, and Davide Garassino, 147–179. Frankfurt etc.: Peter Lang.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Wienen, Ursula
    2006Zur Übersetzbarkeit markierter Kohäsionsformen. Eine funktionale Studie zum Kontinuum von Spaltadverbialen und Spaltkonnektoren im Spanischen, Französichen und Deutschen. Bern: Lang.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/bjl.00017.dec
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/bjl.00017.dec
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): adverbials; cleft lookalikes; cleft sentences; corpus-based study; French; semantic features
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error