Quelques hypothèses sur les structures syntaxique et sémantique de Ce fripon de valet

Cet article fait état des structures syntaxique et sémantique de la construction Ce fripon de valet en français standard et en français québécois. L’hypothèse est faite que cette construction a un statut syntaxique analogue d’un point de référentiel à celui à l’épithète antéposé (Ce gentil valet). La valeur évaluative de la construction est analysée comme ressortant de la valeur de N1 ou du déterminant; sa valeur équative dépend de la coindiciation des N en cause.This paper discusses the syntax and semantics of the construction Ce fripon de valet (This rascal of a servant) using data both from standard and québécois French. This construction is analyzed as having a syntactical status similar to that of preposed complements (Un gentil valet, A nice servant). The evaluative value of the construction depends on the nature of N1 or that of the determiner; the equative relationship between the N is analyzed in terms of coreference

The pragmatic motifs of the Jespersen cycle: default, activation, and the history of negation in French

The purpose of this article is to delimit the role of pragmatic specialization in the evolution of negation in French. The change in the marking of sentential negation is believed to proceed in characterized stages that would together constitute the Jespersen cycle. As a marker becomes the default expression of negation, the other markers do not necessarily fade away, and are maintained with specialized roles that include pragmatic functions. One such pragmatic function is that of activation (Dryer 1996), by which a proposition is presented as accessible to the hearer. Activation is shown to motivate the use of preverbal non that competes with 'ne' for several centuries. The claims that the emergence of postverbal pas in early French and the loss of 'ne' in contemporary spoken French are associated with activation are considered on the basis of novel data. It is concluded that pragmatic functions contribute to language change by providing marked options that may be conferred the default status in a grammatical paradigm

Le focus initial en français vernaculaire

It is generally assumed that the broad categories of syntax are available in every language. However, each language may vary in the way that they realize these categories, in the subset of values associated to their realizations and in their frequency. The category of Focus is realized in several languages by constructions such as clefts and initial focused phrases such as the French and Italian equivalent of Paul he’s called. Focus Movement has a diversity of values that are systematically analyzed. The relative paucity of the configuration is proposed to be a consequence of the prosodic constraints of the language that discourages pre-verbal stress, following Lambrecht (1994).On suppose mutatis mutandis que les grandes catégories syntaxiques sont disponibles dans chaque langue. Pourtant, chaque langue peut varier dans la façon dont elle réalise ces catégories, dans les valeurs particulières que ces réalisations profilent et dans leur fréquence d’usage. La catégorie de Focus est ainsi actualisée dans diverses langues par une construction clivée, au côté de laquelle on retrouve des configurations à Focus initial de type Paul il s’appelle. L’étude de cette configuration est l’occasion de définir les valeurs multiples associées à la notion de Focus dans l’usage. La rareté relative du Focus initial en français est attribuée aux contraintes prosodiques de la langue décourageant l’accentuation préverbale, suivant l’intuition de Lambrecht (1994)

Quelqu'un n'est pas venu

Received wisdom has it that positive polarity items such as someone are incompatible with negation (?*Someone didn't come). Yet negative contexts are attested with such items not only in their specific indefinite reading (e.g. There's someone who didn't come), but also in their non-specific reading (It isn't the case that someone came). It is the non-specific reading of indefinite quelqu'un as subject of a negative verb phrase which is analysed by the present paper. On the basis of a corpus of attested cases, it demonstrates that polemic contrast is the crucial condition of the considered interpretation. As quelqu'un is included within a presupposed proposition that is rejected as a whole by negation, negative contexts can accommodate an item which does not normally yield the interpretations negation does. Interpretation is thus presented as process of mutual adjustment between contextual readings allowed for by items, readings which can be modalised by discursive values

La contingence des faits linguistiques : réflexions sur la variation et le changement

Cet article présente une réflexion sur le rôle des faits contingents pour la compréhension générale du langage. Ces faits sont illustrés par l'absence de proportionnalité dans le paradigme des indéfinis du français et par l'absence de corrélations stables entre le Paramètre du Sujet Nul et les autres paramètres. Ces irrégularités vont à l'encontre de ce que laissent attendre certaines versions du structuralisme et le Programme Minimaliste chomskyen actuel. Des perspectives développées dans les sciences de la vie et de la culture et dans des travaux récents sur le langage formulaire permettent d'envisager la contingence comme résultant du caractère expédient d'un médium tourné vers l'action. Une compréhension du langage en termes d'une théorie de l'action permet de retrouver le lieu de passage entre les règles par défaut qui structurent une grammaire de façon générale et les stipulations qui les actualisent dans l'usage particulier, ces deux modes jouant un rôle complémentaire dans l'organisation de l'information linguistique.This paper is a reflection on the role of contingent facts for the general understanding of language. Such facts are illustrated by the lacks of proportionality in the paradigm of French indefinites and the irregular correlations between the Null Subject Parameter and other hypothesised parameters. Such contingencies clearly go against the expectation raised by at least some versions of structuralism and the current chomskyan Minimalist Program. As demonstrated by alternative views being developed in various natural and social sciences, and as shown by recent research on formulaic language, contingency may be understood as the result of the expedient character of a medium geared towards action. A view of language as action may thus offer a perspective able to account both for the general default rules shaping a grammar and for the contingencies that entrench them in use, as both are integral and complementary aspects of language

La contingence des faits linguistiques:réflexions sur la variation et le changement

This paper is a reflection on the role of contingent facts for the general understanding of language. Such facts are illustrated by the lacks of proportionality in the paradigm of French indefinites and the irregular correlations between the Null Subject Parameter and other hypothesised parameters. Such contingencies clearly go against the expectation raised by at least some versions of structuralism and the current chomskyan Minimalist Program. As demonstrated by alternative views being developed in various natural and social sciences, and as shown by recent research on formulaic language, contingency may be understood as the result of the expedient character of a medium geared towards action. A view of language as action may thus offer a perspective able to account both for the general default rules shaping a grammar and for the contingencies that entrench them in use, as both are integral and complementary aspects of language

Invariants sémantiques et constructions syntaxiques

This article looks at the conditions under which a construction has an own interpretation. Interpreting the first proposal of the type constructions modalisante I think that P is considered. It is shown that these interpretations can be fully explained by parsing of the sequence I think than a subordinated, resulting in a set of undesirable consequences. The ability to handle this sequence as a construction in the theoretical that gives this constructionnelle grammar concept is envisaged to assess the relationships between form, meaning sense, compositionnalité and invariant. Cet article s'intéresse aux conditions suivant lesquelles une construction possède une interprétation qui lui est propre. L'interprétation modalisante de la première proposition des constructions du type Je crois que P est considérée. Il est montré que ces interprétations ne peuvent être pleinement expliquées par l'analyse syntaxique faisant de la séquence Je crois que une subordonnée, qui entraîne un ensemble de conséquences indésirables. La possibilité de traiter cette séquence comme une construction dans le sens théorique que donne à cette notion la Grammaire constructionnelle est envisagée, permettant d'apprécier les rapports entre forme, sens, compositionnalité et invariant