Énoncés capacitifs et constructions à sujet locatif : quel alignement syntaxe-sémantique ?
The present paper focuses on two constructions – capacitive (e.g. The main dining room seats 65) and setting-subject (e.g. The reign of Charles II saw the end of the great Forest courts) constructions – which are comparable in more than one way. The verbs under study (seat and sleep, the two most fr...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Presses Universitaires du Midi
2023-11-01
|
| Series: | Anglophonia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/5492 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832579248778379264 |
|---|---|
| author | Christelle Lacassain Caroline Marty |
| author_facet | Christelle Lacassain Caroline Marty |
| author_sort | Christelle Lacassain |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The present paper focuses on two constructions – capacitive (e.g. The main dining room seats 65) and setting-subject (e.g. The reign of Charles II saw the end of the great Forest courts) constructions – which are comparable in more than one way. The verbs under study (seat and sleep, the two most frequent verbs in capacitive sentences; see and witness, the only two ‘perception’ verbs featuring in setting-subject constructions) prototypically license an animate subject whereas in these less prototypical constructions, the subject has an inanimate referent, either spatial or temporal (the latter only in setting-subject constructions). The alignment between syntactic function and semantic role is not prototypical, as the subject referent is neither an agent nor an experiencer, but denotes, at first sight, a place or a temporal period. Finally, the two types of sentences abstract away from the expression of a concrete situation experienced by a human animate, originally denoted by the verbs concerned.The study addresses the mechanisms at work in both types of constructions. It shows that not only does the difference in syntax-semantics alignment between prototypical and non-prototypical sentences allows for the emergence of a new, abstract verbal meaning, but also that there is a logic of continuity between prototypical (She slept well or We saw a car with only one headlight on) and non-prototypical sentences. By analysing the syntax-semantics alignment present in these two types of sentences, we can first identify the deviations present at the syntax-semantics interface in capacitive and setting-subject constructions, and then attempt to categorise the type of alignment at work in such constructions, in which the thematised locative constituent is neither a typical subject nor a typical topic; it is conceived of as a participant in the process, rather than as a mere circumstance. In the light of such analyses, the motivation for this specific syntax-semantics alignment and the topicalisation of the locative is revealed, as is the meaning at work in both types of constructions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-87d31048098d4d59b7eb7e18302eb5a8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1278-3331 2427-0466 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires du Midi |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anglophonia |
| spelling | doaj-art-87d31048098d4d59b7eb7e18302eb5a82025-01-30T12:33:11ZengPresses Universitaires du MidiAnglophonia1278-33312427-04662023-11-013610.4000/11qbjÉnoncés capacitifs et constructions à sujet locatif : quel alignement syntaxe-sémantique ?Christelle LacassainCaroline MartyThe present paper focuses on two constructions – capacitive (e.g. The main dining room seats 65) and setting-subject (e.g. The reign of Charles II saw the end of the great Forest courts) constructions – which are comparable in more than one way. The verbs under study (seat and sleep, the two most frequent verbs in capacitive sentences; see and witness, the only two ‘perception’ verbs featuring in setting-subject constructions) prototypically license an animate subject whereas in these less prototypical constructions, the subject has an inanimate referent, either spatial or temporal (the latter only in setting-subject constructions). The alignment between syntactic function and semantic role is not prototypical, as the subject referent is neither an agent nor an experiencer, but denotes, at first sight, a place or a temporal period. Finally, the two types of sentences abstract away from the expression of a concrete situation experienced by a human animate, originally denoted by the verbs concerned.The study addresses the mechanisms at work in both types of constructions. It shows that not only does the difference in syntax-semantics alignment between prototypical and non-prototypical sentences allows for the emergence of a new, abstract verbal meaning, but also that there is a logic of continuity between prototypical (She slept well or We saw a car with only one headlight on) and non-prototypical sentences. By analysing the syntax-semantics alignment present in these two types of sentences, we can first identify the deviations present at the syntax-semantics interface in capacitive and setting-subject constructions, and then attempt to categorise the type of alignment at work in such constructions, in which the thematised locative constituent is neither a typical subject nor a typical topic; it is conceived of as a participant in the process, rather than as a mere circumstance. In the light of such analyses, the motivation for this specific syntax-semantics alignment and the topicalisation of the locative is revealed, as is the meaning at work in both types of constructions.https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/5492setting-subject constructionsyntax – semantics realignmentsemantic bleachinglocative subjectcapacitive construction |
| spellingShingle | Christelle Lacassain Caroline Marty Énoncés capacitifs et constructions à sujet locatif : quel alignement syntaxe-sémantique ? Anglophonia setting-subject construction syntax – semantics realignment semantic bleaching locative subject capacitive construction |
| title | Énoncés capacitifs et constructions à sujet locatif : quel alignement syntaxe-sémantique ? |
| title_full | Énoncés capacitifs et constructions à sujet locatif : quel alignement syntaxe-sémantique ? |
| title_fullStr | Énoncés capacitifs et constructions à sujet locatif : quel alignement syntaxe-sémantique ? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Énoncés capacitifs et constructions à sujet locatif : quel alignement syntaxe-sémantique ? |
| title_short | Énoncés capacitifs et constructions à sujet locatif : quel alignement syntaxe-sémantique ? |
| title_sort | enonces capacitifs et constructions a sujet locatif quel alignement syntaxe semantique |
| topic | setting-subject construction syntax – semantics realignment semantic bleaching locative subject capacitive construction |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/5492 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christellelacassain enoncescapacitifsetconstructionsasujetlocatifquelalignementsyntaxesemantique AT carolinemarty enoncescapacitifsetconstructionsasujetlocatifquelalignementsyntaxesemantique |