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Part of
Current Issues in Syntactic Cartography: A crosslinguistic perspective
Edited by Fuzhen Si and Luigi Rizzi
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 267] 2021
► pp. 111–126

Chapter 5
Uncovering the left periphery of Etruscan

Some theoretical insights

| Beijing Language and Culture University
| CISAP Università degli Studi di Cagliari

In this paper, we attempt to address a Restprache like Etruscan by means of theoretical tools. This work approaches the syntax of Etruscan and proposes a number of descriptive generalizations on its clausal structure. Despite the intrinsic difficulty represented by the fragmentary data, we provide some theory-driven insights to detect pragmatic/semantic effects based on syntax. After having presented the theoretical insights related to word order reorderings and syntacticization, we shall discuss qualitative data from Etruscan. We observe that modifications of the “canonical” word order might be related to interpretative properties. Following the criterial approach of scope-discourse semantics, we propose that the movement of the verb in Etruscan adjacent to the fronted XP is the strategy to realize the activated criterial position in the left periphery. In the last part, we also discuss attested complementizers and their mapping within the syntactic architecture.

Keywords: left periphery, Etruscan, syntacticization, criterial approach, scope-discource semantics, complementizers
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Cartography and syntacticisation as formal tools
    • 2.1Cartography and reordering
    • 2.2Linguistic variability in activating criterial positions
  • 3.Reorderings in Etruscan
    • 3.1Some notes on the syntax of Etruscan
    • 3.2“Speaking objects” and reorderings: A criterial approach
  • 4.Uncovering further portions of the left periphery: Relatives and imperatives
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 October 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.267.05sam
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