Accusativus Cum Infinitivo Research Articles

Raising to object

Abstract In this paper we provide an introduction to a set of tools for syntactic analysis based on graph theory, and apply them to the study of some properties of English accusativus cum infinitivo constructions, more commonly known as raising to object or exceptional case marking structures. We focus on puzzling extraction asymmetries between base-generated objects and ‘raised’ objects and on the interaction between raising to object and Right Wrap. We argue that a lexicalised derivational grammar with grammatical functions as primitives delivers empirically adequate analyses.

Accusativus cum Infinitivo y otras construcciones de infinitivo latinizante: caracterización sintáctica y uso en la literatura erasmiana doctrinal del siglo XVI

Abstract This article addresses the most important syntactic issues related to the imitative constructions of Latin Accusativus cum Infinitivo in Renaissance Spanish. I opt to subsume this label coming from Latin syntax under the more encompassing denomination of Latinising Infinitive, which refers to the use of infinitive constructions directly or indirectly inspired by syntactic schemes typical of classical, medieval or Renaissance Latin literature. Finally, some cases of Latinising Infinitive in a corpus of doctrinal prose written by 16th-century Erasmist authors are considered. The analysis aims to account for the difficulties of delimitation of the Latinising Infinitive in translated and non-translated texts, as well as to show that, in the consideration of syntactic Latinism, it is only possible to operate on a gradual conception that explains the existence of Latinisms with a more or less marked variational status within the domain of communicative distance.

ІНФІНІТИВИ У ФУНКЦІЇ ВТОРИННОГО ПРЕДИКАТА У ТЕКСТІ БІОГРАФІЇ АРТАКСЕРКСА ПЛУТАРХА: ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ВІДТВОРЕННЯ У ПЕРЕКЛАДІ НОВОГРЕЦЬКОЮ МОВОЮ

In the article, infi nitives in the function of the secondary predicate, in particular, in the syntactic constructions Accusativus cum infi nitivo, Nominativus cum infi nitivo and in subordinate clauses with the conjunctions ὥστε and πρίν in the text of the biography of Artaxerxes by Plutarch are considered. In accordance with the purpose of the study, the descriptive method (for inventory, classifi cation and grammatical interpretation of infi nitives) and comparative analysis (for identifi cation of grammatical transformations of the ancient Greek infi nitive in New Greek translation and for assessment of their compliance with the original forms) were used. Elements of quantitative analysis have also been involved (to determine the main transformational means of translating infi nitives). The analysis has shown that the infi nitive as an non-fi nite form of the verb is rendered as a fi nite one, the most typical variant of translating the infi nitive in the construction Accusativus cum infi nitivo, in subordinate temporal clauses with the conjunction πρίν, and in the majority of clauses of result with the conjunction ώστε being conditional mood with the particle να (60 %). Infi nitives in the construction Nominativus cum infi nitivо and partly in subordinate clauses with the conjunction ώστε are usually translated by indicatives (35 %); in some cases the infi nitive is reproduced by descriptive expressions (5 %). Grammatical transformations are combined with lexical ones. In the translation, the same verb (15 %) as in Old Greek can be used, or it can be replaced by a synonymous verb (85 %) of New Greek due to the limited use of the corresponding Old Greek words in New Greek or their disappearance. Therefore, the absence of infi nitives in New Greek is represented in translation by other means and techniques, which have an equivalent semantic load and can adequately reproduce the meaning of a sentence with an infi nitive construction, and thus to render Plutarch’s literary passion for multifaceted action and information capacity of the text. Key words: Accusativus cum infi nitivo, Nominativus cum infi nitivo, subordinate clauses with conjunctions ὥστε and πρίν, translation, conditional mood with particle να, indicative mood, descriptive expression.

Aspetti della Subordinazione a verbo non finito nella Vulgata1

SummaryThis paper aims at describing some of the main structural and functional characteristics of two subordinate patterns, namely infinitive clauses governed by verba dicendi et sentiendi (i.e. the so-called Accusativus cum Infinitivo) and participial clauses, as they occur in the Vulgate. The characteristics of the use of the Accusativus cum Infinitivo will be interpreted within the context of the uses of this structure in other Latin texts written in different periods. In particular, and in the framework of a functional-typologi- cal approach, we will investigate word-order phenomena.

Aspetti della subordinazione completiva nel De consolatione philosophiae di Boezio*

Summary:This paper aims at describing some of the main structural and functional characteristics of completive clauses governed by verba dicendi et sentiendi in Boethius's De consolatione philosophiae. The characteristics of the use of the Accusativus cum Infinitivo (AcI) will be analysed in comparison with the uses of other Latin authors. The data will be described on the basis of two main aspects: constituent order, and the coreferentiality of the subject of the AcI with elements in the main clause. Compared to the predominance of AcI constructions, quod-clauses show a consistent pattern and are limited to well- defined contexts. Some aspects of the use of quin and ut will also be described. Special attention will be given to the problems of syntactic and semantic interpretation of the governing verbs, which can be difficult to define clearly. This study will also set the ground for further research on the influence of Boethius's Latin model on Italo-Romance literary texts in the Middle Ages, both on the syntactic and the stilistic level.

AcI

AbstractThis paper examines the history of theAccusativus cum Infinitivo(henceforth: AcI) construction in some languages of Western Europe (the Romance and Germanic languages), and attempts to ascertain whether the AcI in the modern languages is modelled on the AcI of Latin or whether the form was simply inherited. In this paper, only those constructions which are formed with verbs of saying or thinking + infinitive are considered instances of true AcI constructions. FollowingPountain (1998), we attempt to distinguish ‘hard’ vs ‘weak’, ‘total’ vs ‘partial’, ‘learnèd’ vs ‘non-learnèd’ Latinisms. In conclusion, we hypothesize that the construction is favoured by Latin models, but it is consistent with structural patterns already occurring in the languages involved.

Codzienny język mieszkańców Bydgoszczy zapisany w tekstach literackich

<p>Wyróżnikiem wielkich miast jest język, jakim posługują się na co dzień ich mieszkańcy, nazywany gwarą miejską. Cennym źródłem gwary bydgoskiej, choć nie stricte literackim, jest Pamiętnik gapia Zbigniewa Raszewskiego. Największy zapisany zasób leksyki bydgoskiej zawiera trylogia Jerzego SulimyKamińskiego pt. Most Królowej Jadwigi. Poza tym wymienić trzeba m.in. powieści: Obóz Wszystkich Świętych Tadeusza Nowakowskiego i Kamienny bruk Wiesława Rogowskiego. W gwarze bydgoskiej, obok zjawisk leksykalnych, występują nieliczne zjawiska fleksyjne i fonetyczne oraz konstrukcje składniowe typu mieć plus accusativus cum infinitivo oraz być x lat starym. Autor Mostu Królowej Jadwigi używa – jako tworzywa językowego – gwary bydgoskiej, znanej mu z rodzinnego domu, więc można uznać, że język, jakim posługują się bohaterowie i narrator tej powieści, to język autentycznych mieszkańców Bydgoszczy. Gwara bydgoska wykazuje wspólnotę cech z gwarą miejską Poznania. Wpływ na to mają: położenie obu miast (dialekt wielkopolski) i ich historia (germanizacja).</p>

Tzw. nominativus cum infinitivo jako formalizacja struktury predykatowo-argumentowej w klasycznej łacinie

The article makes an attempt at interpreting the Latin syntactic-semantic structure traditionally referred to as nominativus cum infinitivo , with the application of the methodological premises of semantic syntax described in the Gramatyka Wspolczesnego Jezyka Polskiego ( Skladnia ) [ A Grammar of the Modern Polish Language (Syntax) ] published in 1984. The structure which is interpreted is a sentence in nature. Its constitutive element is the finite form of the verb in passivum accommodated by the noun-based nominative element (the subject) which constitutes the exponent of an argument of the predicate represented by the verbal form in the infinitive. Traditionally this structure was characterised as a result of the passivisation of structures which are known as accusativus cum infinitivo . However, such an approach is not justifiable neither formally nor semantically. As a matter of fact, the use of passive finite forms within the framework of the nominativus cum infinitivo structures does not determine the sentence diathesis, but it constitutes an index of imparting a marked epistemic modality to the predicative content expressed by the infinitival form. Therefore in terms of semantic syntax the type of a sentence which is discussed should be interpreted as a formalisation of the predicative-argumentative structure featuring a predicate of a higher order, in which the core predicate is of modal nature.

‘Finite’ infinitives in Ancient Greek

In this paper I argue that the unembedded Accusativus cum Infinitivo in Ancient Greek is a case of hearer-induced grammaticalization. AcI embedded under verba dicendi or δοκεῖν in deontic contexts are ambiguous: while the speaker intends the deontic reading as a side meaning of the embedding verb, it can also be attributed to the AcI. If the hearer opts for the latter analysis, a new function of the AcI emerges, which ultimately leads to its de-embedding. I show that this grammaticalization process is parallel to similar reanalyses in sound change. In a short outlook the analysis is extended to the emergence of absolute constructions.

The Volo Command in Roman Comedy

The contribution aims to show how commands and requests withvolo(andnolo), e.g.volo te facere, “I want you to do [this]”, are constrained by social variables, specifically the relationship of hearer to speaker. There are 181 relevant tokens gathered from the corpus of extant Roman comedy. First, three kinds ofvolocommand are distinguished and discussed:volo+bald infinitive,volo+accusativus cum infinitivo, andvolo+finite clause with subjunctive. Second, the following are demonstrated: (1.)volo+AcI andvolo+subjunctive typically convey peremptory commands; (2.)volo+bald infinitive “prefers” requests compared to the former two expressions; (3.) all three expressions tend to be used in contexts where the speaker enjoys greater authority than the hearer. To conclude, it is suggested that Plautus may use the form to support the authoritative stance of characters in Amphitruo, Casina and Captivi.

Употребление инфинитива в Синайском патерике

The aim of this article is to examine the use of infinitives in Sinai Paterikon, a manuscript which was copied from an Old Slavic manuscript in the Old Russian language area in the 11th and 12th centuries. The author mainly concentrates on the use of infinitives 1) in compounds with auxiliaries, 2) as various parts of the sentence, and 3) in the syntactic construction “dativus cum infinitivo”, which was used for shortening various clauses. Besides, the author also studies other constructions with infinitives such as “accusativus cum infinitivo” and “nominativus cum infinitivo”.

On the Emergence of Personal Infinitives in the History of Spanish

The aim of this article is twofold: (a) To evaluate the learned source for the rise of personal infinitives in the history of Spanish, and (b) to address the issue of the origin of personal infinitives from the perspective of language acquisition. It is argued, by means of novel empirical evidence derived from the Corpus del Español, that the Latin Accusativus cum Infinitivo source is responsible for the personal infinitive in complement position in Old Castilian (in line with Pountain 1998). However, this learned source is not the source of the Modern Spanish personal infinitive in adjunct position. For the latter, an acquisitional scenario is put forward whereby changes in the primary linguistic data (cf. Lightfoot 1999) made adjunct personal infinitives possible.

Binding, Phases, and Locality

Abstract. The central issue addressed here is syntactic locality, and the main proposal is that movement and anaphoric relations are governed by a unified concept of locality. The specific phenomena to be investigated are (i) infinitive constructions, in particular, Accusativus cum Infinitivo (AcI) complements, (ii) the German Possessor Dative Construction (PDC), with a dative nominal playing the role of both possessor and affectee, and (iii) binding, the conditions under which reflexive and nonreflexive pronouns may occur. The focus is mainly on binding and how to account for instances of noncomplementarity, but also on the PDC, which can be analyzed as possessor raising. Ultimately, it will become clear that the unifying principle of locality must be the phase, and that phasehood determines the transparency/opacity of phrases (CP, vP, DP, and PP) for both movement and anaphoric relations.

A Case Study in Treebank Collaboration and Comparison: Accusativus cum Infinitivo and Subordination in Latin

We describe here a collaboration between two separate treebank projects annotating data for the same language (Latin). By working together to create a common standard for the annotation of Latin syntax and sharing our annotated data as it is created, we are each able to rely on the resources and expertise of the other while also ensuring that our data will be compatible in the future. is compatibility allows us to conduct diachronic studies involving both datasets, and we add our results to an ongoing discussion of one such issue, the gradual replacement of the Accusativus cum Infinitivo construction in Latin with subordinate clauses headed by conjunctions such as quod and quia.

Binding by Phase: (Non-)Complementarity in German

This paper explores areas of reflexive and pronominal noncomplementarity in German Accusativus cum Infinitivo (AcI)-constructions and other configurations that involve embedding of a subclausal (smaller than IP) constituent. The main empirical finding is that there are several non-complementarity-inducing contexts that have not been noticed before. In examples with embedded AcIs or complex DPs, a reflexive may be bound across an intervening subject, and a pronominal may be free even if its antecedent is only a vP-, DP-, or PPboundary away. The proposed account of these facts is based on the claim that vP, DP, and PP are all potentially phase-defining categories (Chomsky 2000). The expected “regular” cases of complementarity are accounted for by postulating as the relevant binding domain for both reflexive and pronominal the minimal phase containing the anaphoric element. Newly discovered cases of non-complementarity that exist at least for some speakers stem from the ability of reflexives, but not pronominals, to covertly raise to the edge of their phase (Safir 2004). Finally, well known cases of non-complementarity in AcIs where the anaphoric element is embedded in a PP can be explained if θ-independent (that is, internally saturated) PPs are adjoined high, to the AcI (vP)-phase-edge. This then achieves a unified account of both the well established binding facts documented in the literature and the surprising long-distance binding of reflexives reported as acceptable for some speakers.My thanks to Judith Aissen, Jorge Hankamer, and especially Jim McCloskey, who have helped me with and greatly contributed to the various drafts of this paper. Thanks also to my JGL reviewers for their helpful feedback. (Any remaining errors are my own.) Finally, I am indebted to all my native speaker consultants.

The Role of Event Expression in Grammar

The main thesis of this article is that is an important cognitive category which plays a central role in the semantics of natural languages. It will be shown that apparently unrelated data fall into place as soon as the role of event expressions and the existence of events as a semantic category are recognized. Attention should be drawn to the fact that in current work in Generative Grammar there is considerable disagreement as to the nature of certain syntactic/semantic constructions. A major controversy is between groups claiming that subjects and predicates should be represented as clauses on all levels of grammar (except perhaps PF) and groups claiming that various semantically clause-like structures should not be represented as clauses at all. It is far beyond the scope of this article to investigate even a substantial part of the existing proposals. 1 My goal is rather to discuss some striking similarities between undoubtedly clausal constructions (finite) and bare infinitive constructions (accusativus cum infinitivo) which, I hope, shed some new light on some of the existing theoretical accounts. My involvement in the syntax controversy will, however with the exception of section 7 be rather indirect. The reason for that is that I will often have to say more about the semantics of the critical data than about their formal syntactic characteristics. We