Cover not available
Part of
Microparameters in the Grammar of Basque
Edited by Beatriz Fernández and Jon Ortiz de Urbina
[Language Faculty and Beyond 13] 2016
► pp. 265–288

Microsyntactic variation in the Basque hearsay evidential

| CNRS – IKER, UMR5478
| IXA, UPV | EHU
This paper studies the syntactic distribution of the Basque hearsay evidential omen across Basque dialects. We test the hypothesis that the complex dialectal variation regarding the syntactic distribution exhibited by omen follows from a basic syntactic microparameter: in central varieties the features that constitute the hearsay evidential are projected as part of the clausal spine; in Eastern varieties, those features are compiled as a separate syntactic term, merged as the Specifier of an independent Evidential Head. This microparameter accounts in a unified way for most of the differences in the syntactic distribution of the evidential. Together with this basic microparameter, the comparative study of Basque dialects seems to support the idea that certain functional projections (like NegP, FocP or EvP) may appear in more than one position in the cartography of the clause, and more specifically, at the edge of cyclic domains.
Keywords: hearsay evidential, left periphery, modality, syntactic cartography
Published online: 9 September 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lfab.13.10etx
References
Aikhenvald. Alexandra
2004 Evidentiality. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Belletti, Andrea
2005 “Extended doubling and the VP periphery.” Probus 17-1:1-35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Blaine, Eleanor M. and Dechaine, Rose-Marie
2007 “Evidential types: evidence from Cree dialects.” International Journal of American Linguistics 73-3: 257-291. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chametzky, Robert A.
2000 Phrase Structure: From GB to Minimalism. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Chomsky, Noam
1995 The Minimalist Program. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Cinque, Guillermo F.
1999 Adverbs and Functional Heads. A Crosslinguistic Perspective [Oxford Studies in Comparative Syntax]. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
2006 Restructuring and Functional Heads. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
De Rijk, Rudolf
2008 Basque Grammar. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Dendale, Patrick and Collier, Danielle
2003 “Point de vue et évidentialité.” Cahiers de Praxématique 41:105-130.Google Scholar
Ducrot, Oswald
1984 Le dire et le dit. Paris: Les Editions de Minuit.Google Scholar
Eguzkitza, Andolin
1991 “Partikula modalez ohar pare bat.” ASJU 25 (3): 961-963.Google Scholar
Etxepare, Ricardo
2010a “From hearsay evidentiality to samesaying relations.” Lingua 120: 604-627. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2010b “Omen bariazioan.” In Euskara eta euskarak: aldakortasun sintaktikoa aztergai [Supplements ASJU 52], Fernandez, Beatriz, Pablo Albizu and Ricardo Etxepare (eds), 85-112. Bilbo: UPV/EHU.Google Scholar
Etxepare, Ricardo and Uribe-Etxebarria, Myriam
2008 “On negation and focus in Spanish and Basque.” In Xabier Artiagoitia et Joseba Lakarra (eds), Gramatika Jaietan. Patxi Goenagaren omenez. Bilbao: University of the Basque Country. Supplements of the International Journal of Basque Language and Linguistics 51. 287-310. ISBN: 9788498600858.Google Scholar
2009 “Hitz hurrenkera eta birregituraketa euskaraz.” In Beñat Oihartzabali gorazarre. Festschrift for Bernard Oyharçabal [Supplements of ASJU 43], Ricardo Etxepare, Ricardo Gómez and Joseba A. Lakarra (eds), 335-356. Bilbo: UPV/EHU.Google Scholar
Gómez, Ricardo and Koldo Sainz
1995 “On the origin of the finite forms of the Basque verb.” In Towards a History of the Basque Language, José Ignacio Hualde, Joseba A. Lakarra and Robert L. Trask (eds), 235-273. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Giorgi, Alessandra
2010 About the Speaker. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Güldemann, Tom
2008 Quotative Indexes in African Languages. A Synchronic and Diachronic Survey. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Haddican, Bill
2004 “Sentence polarity and word order in Basque.” The Linguistic Review 21 (2): 87-127. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2008 “Euskal Perpausaren Espez-Buru-Osagarri hurrenkeraren aldeko argudio batzuk.” In Antisimetriaren hipotesia vs. Buru Parametroa. Euskararen hitz hurrenkera ezbaian, Iñigo Arteatx, Xabier Artiagoitia and Arantzazu Elordieta (eds), 69-96. Bilbo: UPV/EHU.Google Scholar
Hornstein, Norbert
2009 A Theory of Syntax. Minimal Operations and Universal Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, William H.
1986 “The heterogeneity of evidentials in Makah.” In Evidentiality: The Linguistic Coding of Epistemology, Wallace L. Chafe and Johanna Nichols (eds), 3-28. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Julien, Marit
2002 Syntactic Heads and Word Formation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Laka, Itziar
1990 Negation in Syntax. Ph.D. dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar
Ormazabal, Javier, Uribe-Etxebarria, Myriam and Uriagereka, Juan
2008 “Hitz hurrenkera eta NZ-mugida: azalpen parametriko baten bila.” In Antisimetriaren hipotesia vs buru parametroa: euskararen oinarrizko hitz hurrenkera ezbaian. Iñigo Arteatx, Xabier Artiagoitia and Arantzazu Elordieta (eds), 25-50. Bilbo: UPV/EHU.Google Scholar
Oyharçabal, Bernard
2003 “Tense, aspect and mood.” In A Grammar of Basque, José Ignacio Hualde and Jon Ortiz de Urbina (eds), 249-282. Berlin: Mouton.Google Scholar
Ortiz de Urbina, Jon
1994 “Verb-initial patterns in Basque and Breton.” Lingua 94: 125–153. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1995 “Residual verb second and verb first in Basque.” In K. Kiss (eds), Discourse Configurational Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 99-121.Google Scholar
Pesetsky, David and Esther Torrego
2007 “The syntax of valuation and the interpretability of features.” In Simin Karimi, Vida Samiian and Wendy K. Wilkins (eds) Phrasal and clausal architecture: Syntactic Derivation and Interpretation. In honor of Joseph Emonds. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rizzi, Luigi
1997 “The Fine Structure of the Left Periphery”. In L. Haegeman (ed.), Elements of Grammar, Dordrecht: Kluwer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rowlett, Paul
1998 Sentential Negation in French. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Schenner, Mathias
2008 “Semantics of evidentials: German reportative modals.” Proceedings of ConSOLE XVI, 179-198.
Squartini, Mario
2004 “Disentangling evidentiality and epistemic modality in Romance.” Lingua 114-7: 403-444.Google Scholar
Uria, Larraitz and Etxepare, Ricardo
2011 “ Basyque: aplicación para el estudio de la variación sintáctica.” Linguamática 3-1.Google Scholar
Wiemer, Björn
2010 “Hearsay in European languages. Toward an integrative account of lexical and grammatical marking.” In Linguistic Realization of Evidentiality in European languages, Gabriele Diewald and Elena Smirnova (eds), 49-59. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Zanuttini, Raffaella
1997 Negation and Clausal Structure. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Zubeldia, Larraitz
2010 “Omen partikularen analisi semantiko eta pragmatikoa.” Ph.D. dissertation, UPV/EHU.Google Scholar

Consulted corpora

Basyque (Basic Syntactic Atlas of the Basque Language)
Online at [URL].
Ereduzko Prosa Gaur [Contemporary Reference Prose]
Online at: [URL].
Etchepare, Jean
1905 Jean Etchepare mirikuaren idazlanak, III. Kazetaritza (A), 1903-1915.Google Scholar
Etxamendi, Eñaut
2011 Idazlanen bilduma, 4. Baiona: Maiatz.Google Scholar
Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia
[General Basque Dictionary] 1987-2005 Luis Michelena and Ibon Sarasola. Bilbo: Euskaltzaindia, Desclée de Brower, Mensajero. Online at: [URL].Google Scholar
Sallaberry, Etienne
1978 Ene sinestea. Zarautz: Itxaropena.Google Scholar
XX
mendeko Euskararen Corpus Estatistikoa [Statistical Corpus of 20th century Basque]. Online at [URL].
Cited by

Cited by 7 other publications

Haselow, Alexander & Sylvie Hancil
2021. Grammar, discourse, and the grammar-discourse interface. In Studies at the Grammar-Discourse Interface [Studies in Language Companion Series, 219], ► pp. 2 ff. DOI logo
Ituarte, Aitor Lizardi
2022. Chapter 5. Outer particles vs tag particles. In Discourse Particles [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 276], ► pp. 131 ff. DOI logo
ITUARTE, AITOR LIZARDI
2022. Clause type vs speech act: Knowledge confirmation questions in Basque. Journal of Linguistics ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Korta, Kepa & Larraitz Zubeldia
2022. Chapter 8. Meaning and use of the Basque particle bide. In Discourse Particles [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 276], ► pp. 209 ff. DOI logo
Monforte, Sergio
2020. Chapter 11. Modal particles in Basque. In Information-Structural Perspectives on Discourse Particles [Studies in Language Companion Series, 213], ► pp. 278 ff. DOI logo
Monforte, Sergio
2020. Galdera partikulak euskaraz. Fontes Linguae Vasconum :130 DOI logo
Monforte, Sergio
2022. Modalitate-markatzaileak: partikula modalak ote dira euskarazko partikula modalak? [Marcadores de modalidad: ¿son realmente las partículas modales del vasco partículas modales?]. Fontes Linguae Vasconum :132 ► pp. 515 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 17 november 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.