Old French si, grammaticalisation, and the
interconnectedness of change
The particle SI is ubiquitous across the early
French textual record, yet receives no uniform analysis, with
numerous competing and often contradictory claims in the literature
about its distribution and formal status. This study draws on a
novel diachronic corpus analysis to put forward an original analysis
of SI, under which it is not the homogeneous entity often assumed
but rather an adverbial which grammaticalises as a topic-continuity
marker and, later, two forms of V2-related expletive. SI loses its
previously specific temporal and discourse-pragmatic meaning, shows
a widening of distribution and occupies an increasingly high
position within the left periphery. In these respects it is shown to
instantiate a classic form of upwards grammaticalisation
pathway.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction and background
- 1.1Old French and syntactic change
- 1.2Background on Old French
- 2.Previous approaches to the syntax of si
- 3.A new approach
- 3.1Latin and the Strasbourg Oaths
- 3.2Evidence for diachronic change
- 4.Towards a grammaticalisation pathway for si
- 5.Consequences
-
Notes
-
Abbreviations
-
Bibliography
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