On the threefold typology of
Scheinsubjekte
From Karl Brugmann to Cimbrian syntax
The first aim of our contribution is to revisit
Brugmann’s (1917) tripartition of
expletive subjects from the perspective of modern parametric theory,
particularly with regard to the parametric values of [±Verb Second] (henceforth
V2) and [±Null Subject] (henceforth NS). Karl Brugmann was the first scholar to
address the phenomenon of expletive subjects in German, which he called
Scheinsubjekte (‘apparent subjects’), from a syntactic
point of view, distinguishing between a positional expletive on the one hand and
impersonal subjects on the other. His distinction receives important
confirmation when reconducted to the basic parameter values of [+ Verb Second]
and [−Null Subject] that characterise German. The second aim of our contribution
is to show that Brugmann’s typology is useful not only for German, but also for
languages with different parametric choices, such as English [−V2; −NS] and
Italian [−V2; +NS]. Furthermore, we aim to determine whether Brugmann’s typology
of expletives also holds for minority languages like Cimbrian, and for Romance
varieties such as Northern Italian dialects. As we will show, Cimbrian and the
Northern Italian dialects not only confirm Brugmann’s tripartition of expletive
subjects, but also allow for a fine-grained distinction between expletives
related to the syntax of the finite verb, that is to the parameter [±V2], which
involves the C-domain, and to those related to the syntax of the subject, that
is to the parameter [±NS], which involves the T-domain.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Aspects of Cimbrian syntax
- 2.1Cimbrian as a [+V2, −NS] language
- 2.2The typology of lexical expletives in Cimbrian
- 2.2.1Expletives required by the negative value of the null-subject parameter
[−NS]
- 2.2.1.1The expletive ‘z-/-z
- 2.2.1.2The expletive -da
- 2.2.2V2 expletives (Brugmann’s syntaktisches es)
- 2.3First summary
- 3.The comparison with north-eastern Italian dialects
- 3.1The typology of lexical expletives in the Trentino dialects
- 3.2The typology of lexical expletives in the dialects spoken in Veneto
- 3.3Second summary
- 4.Final remarks
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
-
References
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