Subject positions and interfaces

The Case of European Portuguese

Auteurs

• João Costa

Paramètres

• Dictionnaires et manuels de langue
• Manuels
• Studies in generative grammar

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European Portuguese, like other Romance languages, exhibits significant word order variation, allowing five out of six possible permutations of Subject, Verb, and Complement in transitive sentences: SVO, VSO, VOS, OVS, and OSV. This book analyzes the various positions where the subject can appear in European Portuguese, based on a minimalist framework that includes two subject-related functional categories above VP (AgrP and TP). It demonstrates that subjects can occupy all potential landing sites: Spec, AgrP, Spec, TP, and Spec, VP, and can also surface in a left-dislocated position adjoining the clause's left periphery. However, there is no free variation; subjects can only occupy these positions if two conditions are met: the position must be available syntactically, and it must not violate any interface conditions. The proposed model argues that syntax generates legitimate outputs, which can be evaluated at the interface levels. Outputs that meet interface requirements are selected as legitimate, while those that violate conditions are ruled out. This approach yields three independent results: it explains word order variation patterns, reduces syntax to its own tools without needing to manipulate semantic or prosodic variables, and supports the view that European Portuguese is fundamentally an SVO language, where the subject occupies the only specifier position unaffected by other interfaces.

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• Année de publication: 2004