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Article published In:
Linguistics in the Netherlands 2019
Edited by Janine Berns and Elena Tribushinina
[Linguistics in the Netherlands 36] 2019
► pp. 192–207
Part II: Selected papers presented at the Dutch Annual Linguistics Day of 2019

Demonstrative-reinforcer constructions and the syntactic role of deictic features

| Utrecht University

In this paper I take Romance demonstrative-reinforcer constructions as a way to test whether the deictic features encoded by demonstrative and locative forms are active in the syntax. From a descriptive point of view, I claim that demonstrative systems can be best accounted for by making reference to two binary deictic person features: [dem [±Author]] and [dem [±Participant]]. Then I show how these features combine in demonstrative-reinforcer constructions, providing a comprehensive overview of demonstrative-reinforcer constructions in Italo-Romance varieties. Finally, I argue that deictic person features are inactive in the syntax of demonstrative and locative forms: this is suggested by the shortcomings that Agree-based accounts face when dealing with demonstrative-reinforcer constructions. Therefore, I contend that the best analysis for such constructions is a non-core syntactical one, the relevant derivation point being either within the morphological component or at the interface between syntax and semantics.

Keywords: demonstrative-reinforcer constructions, Italo-Romance varieties, deixis, person features, inactive features
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Deictic person features
  • 3.Demonstrative-reinforcer constructions
    • 3.1No co-occurring deictic person features
    • 3.2Coinciding deictic person features
    • 3.3Split systems
    • 3.4Partially overlapping deictic person features
  • 4.Do deictic features undergo Agree?
    • 4.1Activity
    • 4.2Valuation
  • 5.Inactive features and restrictions on co-occurrence: Possible derivations
  • 6.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 5 November 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/avt.00032.ter
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Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Terenghi, Silvia
2021. Chapter 16. Fission in Romance demonstrative-reinforcer constructions. In Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2018 [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 357], ► pp. 304 ff. DOI logo

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