Anna Giacalone Ramat

Grammaticalization Processes in the Area of Temporal and Modal Relations.

This study investigates some instances of linguistic development in the acquisition of a second language that might be subsumed under the issue of grammaticalization. First, the notion of grammaticalization is discussed with reference to the current linguistic debate and its applicability to the domain of language acquisition is evaluated. Then, some cases are examined drawing on data on the acquisition of Italian collected during several years at the University of Pavia. With respect to temporality and modality, learners are shown to move from lexical means or context-dependent strategies to a gradual acquisition of the morphological devices required by the target language. The results of the analyses are discussed in terms of their implications for both general linguistic theory and language acquisition research.

Functional typology and strategies of clause connection in second-language acquisition

Abstract In this study it is argued that typological generalizations based on the way languages code the relationships between two semantically connected clauses may shed light on the development of clause combining in the untutored acquisition of a second language by adult learners. An implicational hierarchy where semantic integration between states of affairs is correlated with the use of verb forms explicitly marked as dependent has been adopted and predictions on the developmental paths of learner languages have been formulated. The data description — based on four learners of Italian at different competence levels — shows an ordering in the emergence of different types of clause linkage that follows the predictions of the hierarchy: in the coding of complement clauses the relations situated at the left end of the hierarchy make use of “deranked” verb forms, those situated at the right end of “balanced” verb forms. Adverbial clauses allow for descriptions based on the same parameters used for complement clauses, while relative clauses are described according to different parameters. The findings of this study provide independent evidence for the validity of principles governing the distribution of particular morphosyntactic strategies in the coding of subordinate relations. This paper also intends to show how second-language-acquisition studies can offer interesting insights to people working in the field of typological and general linguistics.

The development of adversative connectives in Italian: Stages and factors at play

Abstract In this paper we propose a multiple-stage model for the development of interclausal adversative connectives, based on the qualitative and quantitative examination of the three Italian connectives però, tuttavia and mentre. The main purpose of this study is the identification of the respective roles played by frequency, syntax, and context in the development of the adversative function. In the analysis of each of the three diachronic paths at issue, we keep the semantic parameters separate from the syntactic ones, monitoring both the semantic (in)compatibility of each occurrence with the source and the target meaning, identifying three macro-types of contexts (incompatible with the target meaning, compatible with both the source and the target meaning, incompatible with the source meaning), and outlining the syntactic features characterizing each context type through the centuries. Our data show that, despite the differences, the three paths show a number of recurrent properties, which underline the central function of frequency in triggering and spreading the change and the importance of constructions as the units that speakers process, elaborate and innovate. Finally, based on the relative frequency of context types over time, we propose a four-stage model that describes the successive steps of development of the adversative function.

Gradualness and pace in grammaticalization: The case of adversative connectives

In this article we illustrate some cases of parallel diachronic changes in the domain of interclausal adversative connectives, in which Romance languages develop roughly the same function from the same Latin lexical source through similar paths, but at different time rates. This study supports the idea that regularities in semantic change can be effectively captured if a model in stages is adopted, which allows to observe micro-changes correlated to different types of context and to different frequencies of occurrence of the items at issue. In the cases under exam, French seems to follow a faster pace, being ahead of other Romance languages, and at the same time it shows a tendency toward innovation. In the search for explanations for the different behaviors of French, Italian and Spanish, we discuss some hypotheses, calling into question the role of external factors possibly involved in the development of adversative connectives.

Typological Universals and Second Language Acquisition

In the first part of this paper I deal with some points concerning the relationship between typology and Second Language research that were touched upon by Joseph Greenberg in his 1991 article: the contribution of L2 research to linguistic theorizing, the nature vs. history dichotomy, the relation between second languages and pidginization processes. Next, I point out the relevance of typological universals to accounts of learner behavior. Finally, the issue of tense and aspect marking in second languages is addressed in the light of the theoretical proposal known as the “Primacy of aspect hypothesis”. The explanatory power of this hypothesis is discussed by drawing on the notion of prototype, which is in turn argued to be in need of further refinements.

Deictic motion verbs as passive auxiliaries: the case of italian andare ‘go’ (and venire ‘come’).

The two deictic motion verbs ‘go’ and ‘come’ serve as passive auxiliaries in a handful of languages, in combination with non-finite participial forms of the main verb. Some passive constructions involving deictic motion verbs as auxiliaries are infused with special aspectual or modal meanings, even in the absence of overt aspectual or modal operators. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth account of the emergence of the Italian passive with andare (‘go’) + past participle, and to explore the possible crosslinguistic implications of the proposed analysis, with a view to identifying the regularities in the diachronic processes leading to the emergence of passive constructions with deictic motion verbs as auxiliaries. On the basis of a large historical corpus of Italian, we will show that the Italian motion verbs andare ‘go’ and venire ‘come’ develop into passive auxiliaries passing through a stage in which they are used as semi-copulas (with aspectual or modal values), and that this diachronic pathway appears to be valid for other languages in which such a construction type is attested.

Passives and Constructions that resemble passives

Abstract This paper has two goals: First it offers some theoretical reflections on the relations between grammaticalization and constructionalization. Secondly, the paper discusses a case study as an instance of constructionalization, arguing in favor of the passive interpretation of the Italian construction formed by the verb vedersi ‘to see oneself’ followed by the past participle. The synchronic description of the syntactic, semantic and pragmatic features of this construction in Modern Italian is accompanied by a diachronic investigation based on a corpus of texts from the thirteenth century on. Results show the gradual emergence of the passive interpretation through reanalysis of a reflexive construction and the development of idiosyncratic semantic and pragmatic features distinguishing the vedersi-construction from the standard essere ‘be’-passive.