Abstract
This study aims to add to a rich scholarship on the presence of a verb second constraint in old (Italo-)Romance that has been argued to cause V-to-C raising of both the finite verb and one or more constituents, provided we understand this constraint to be lax in these varieties (cf. Ledgeway 2007, 2008). In particular, it analyses a late 14th century old Venetian text, corroborating the existence of this constraint within the variety. Within this study, it will be shown that the syntax of 14th century Venetian is one in which we find the gradual loss of the V2 constraint. This will be shown through a range of phenomena present within the text, such as a loss of Informational Focus fronting, the weakening of subject pronouns, and the loss of scrambling to vP. All in all, this study aims to shed light on the syntax of 14th century Venetian specifically, adding to a growing scholarship on what the incipient loss of the V2 constraint looks like within respective old Romance varieties.
Highlights
Diagnostics for V2 in medieval RomanceWe discuss the more common syntactic phenomena caused by the V2 constraint that we can use as diagnostics against which to corroborate the presence of said V2 constraint within a given medieval Romance variety or text
This study aims to add to a rich scholarship on the presence of a verb second constraint in old (Italo-)Romance that has been argued to cause V-to-C raising of both the finite verb and one or more constituents, provided we understand this constraint to be lax in these varieties
Given the rich level of debate and controversy regarding this constraint in old Romance, in what follows, it will be shown that later old Venetian presents a V2 constraint necessitating verbal and constituent raising to CP in matrix declaratives
Summary
We discuss the more common syntactic phenomena caused by the V2 constraint that we can use as diagnostics against which to corroborate the presence of said V2 constraint within a given medieval Romance variety or text. Saluz vos=mande li bons chevaliers greetings you=sends.3SG the good knight ‘The good knight sends you his greetings’ Structures such as (6a-c) would not be permitted in most modern Romance varieties such as Italian whereby objects raised to the CP must either be a topic resumed with a clitic or an instance of contrastive focus; when informationally new, they are typically found in a postverbal position in unmarked contexts. Following Tobler (1875) and Mussafia (1888) and the subsequently named Tobler-Mussafia Law, it has been observed that reflexive and object clitics are excluded from the initial position in medieval Romance whereby they occur in enclisis attached to the finite verb in V1 orders This is often used as a hallmark for V-to-C raising whereby it corroborates the movement of the finite verb to this clause-initial position. (10) E vavisi per una via molto stretta e per and goes.3SG=LOC.=REFL. by a street very narrow and through una piccola porta vi=s'=entra a small door LOC.=REFL.=enters.3SG ‘One goes there through a very narrow street and enters there through a small door’
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