The trajectory of φ-features on Old French D and n

Abstract

AbstractOld French (OF) determiners (D), which are optional, show a three-way split between definite (def), indefinite(indf), and expletive(expl)D. We develop a nano-syntactic analysis of these three paradigms, according to which the nominal spine is associated with a series of functional heads that include Number, Gender, D, and Kase. We test the predictions of the formal analysis with a quantitative analysis of corpus data from two 12thcentury Anglo-Norman texts –Le voyage de saint Brendan(B) andLais de Marie de France(MdF) – which indicates that over a 60-year span, there are changes in the distribution of D. This presents itself in three ways. First, a decline in expletive D inMdFcorrelates with an increase in the use of D with masculine (m) non-count nouns (nNON-CT) Second, whileBlacks an overt indefinite plural (pl) D,MdFhas one in the form ofdes. Third, with count nouns(nCT), while feminine (f) nouns favour the absence of determiners inB, there is no gender effect inMdF. While the first two changes are predicted by the formal analysis, the third is not. More broadly, the results of our quantitative study provide a more nuanced picture of the factors that govern the distribution of D in OF: they confirm that – relative to conditioning the absence of D (D-drop) – definiteness, grammatical function, and number are stable factors, gender is not a stable factor, and word order does not play a significant role.