Topic and Focus in Old French V1
and V2 structures
Marie Labelle (UQAM) &
Paul Hirschbühler (U. d’Ottawa)
1
Problem
• Traditional analysis: Old French = V2 of the Germanic type :
– V2 in CP
(or V2 in TP
: [CP XP V [TP ….]]
: [TP XP V [VP ….]]
(e.g. Adams, Vance…)
(e.g. Lemieux))
• Rinke & Meisel (2009) : Old French as Topic initial :
– V under T; SpecTP = Topic :
[TP XPTop V [VP …...]Foc ]
– R&M: “[Subject] inversion in Old French is contingent on the
topicalisation of a non-subject constituent” (like contemp. It., Sp.,
Port.)
– R&M: “An incompatibility of the post-verbal subject with an
interpretation as information focus or as part of a thetic sentence
would cause the subject to move to the pre-verbal position.” (p.17)
2
Rinke & Meisel
German
• Preverbal constituent
–
–
–
–
topic
informational focus
contrastive focus
adverb that is neither topic
nor focus
• Postverbal subject
– topic
– (part of the) focus
Old French
• Preverbal constituent
– topic
– adverb that links with the
previous discourse (+/- topic)
• Postverbal subject
– (part of the) focus
(based on Villehardouin & Les 7 sages de
Rome, beginning 13th c.)
3
Old High German
(Hinterhölzl & Petrova)
• Hinterhölzl & Petrova (2005, 2010) :
• « ... the position of the finite verb serves to distinguish the
information-structural domains of Topic and Focus in
sentences of the Old High German period. » (2005:2)
– verb-second = topic initial : [XPgiv/acc]TOP [Vfin ...…]COMMENT/FOCUS
– verb-initial = all focus : [Vfin…XPnew…]FOCUS
• (Modern German = grammaticalization of V2)
Hinterhölzl & Petrova. 2005. Rhetorical Relations and Verb Placement in Early Germanic Languages :
Evidence from the Old High German Tatian Translation (9th century)
4
Aims of the study
• Evaluate the hypothesis that, in Old French, the preverbal
position hosts topics & that constituents belonging to the
focus remain in postverbal position.
• Identify and date eventual grammatical changes in the
discursive functions of preverbal elements and postverbal
subjects.
• Evaluate the possibility that a Topic-first stage intervened in
the transition from V2 to SVO:
V2 > Topic first > Subject first
5
Definitions
Topic
• “The topic constituent identifies the entity or set of entities
under which the information expressed in the comment
constituent should be stored in the [Common Ground]
content.”
(Krifka 2007 Basic notions of information structure)
•
Typically a definite constituent, referring to an entity given in the discourse or
accessible.
6
Information focus
• Pragmatic principle of progression (e.g. Charolles 1978):
If a sentence is to be informative, it must contain material that
is new in relation to previously known information.
• The part of the sentence containing new information that
should be stored in the common ground.
• Gundel & Fretheim (2004) : Topic/Information Focus =
Theme/Rheme, Topic/Comment... : relationally given/new
information respectively. (In Handbook of Pragmatic Theory.)
7
Definitions
Information focus
• Some sentences may be all-focus (Thetic)
– e.g. presentative sentences: There are two cats in the garden.
• Büring (2005:5): not all the information in a comment is new:
A: When did [Aristotle Onassis]Topic marry Jacqueline Kennedy?
B: [He]Topic [married her [in 1968]Focus]]Comment
(Krifka 2007: ex. 41)
« a focused expression would be an informative part of the
sentence, a backgrounded one an uninformative one. »
8
Definitions
Contrastive Focus
• Contrastive Focus : “material which the speaker calls to the
addressee’s attention, thereby often evoking a contrast with
other entities that might fill the same position.” (Gundel &
Fretheim 2004)
(Krifka 2007: Focus indicates the presence of alternatives that are relevant
for the interpretation of linguistic expressions.)
9
Definitions
Contrastive Focus
• Contrastive Focus : “material which the speaker calls to the
addressee’s attention, thereby often evoking a contrast with
other entities that might fill the same position.” (Gundel &
Fretheim 2004)
(Krifka 2007: Focus indicates the presence of alternatives that are relevant
for the interpretation of linguistic expressions.)
• May be marked by expressions like: even, only, also
10
Definitions
Contrastive Focus
• Contrastive Focus : “material which the speaker calls to the
addressee’s attention, thereby often evoking a contrast with
other entities that might fill the same position.” (Gundel &
Fretheim 2004)
(Krifka 2007: Focus indicates the presence of alternatives that are relevant
for the interpretation of linguistic expressions.)
• May be marked by expressions like: even, only, also
• A contrastive focus may be part of a topic.
–A: What do your siblings do?
–B: [My [SIster]Focus]Topic [studies MEDicine]Focus, and
[my [BROther]Focus]Topic is [working on a FREIGHT ship]Focus.
11
The corpus
• 19 parsed Old French texts dated between 980 and 1309
(7 in verse, 12 in prose – from MCVF & Penn supplement)
• All positive declarative matrix IP’s with a full DP subject
• V1 and V2 clauses only
12
V1 clauses
Are post-verbal subjects in V1 clauses
always (part of) the focus of the clause?
13
V1 clauses other than those
where V introduces direct discourse*
•
Taking into account the context, coding of subjects as being
– T = Topics; F = (part of) Information Focus; Unclear
(Only strict V1 clauses considered, i.e. not introduced by a coordinator)
*These will be discussed independently.
14
V1 clauses other than those
where V introduces direct discourse*
•
Taking into account the context,we coded subjects as being
– T = Topics; F = (part of) Information Focus; Unclear
Focus
51
Topic
35
Unclear
17
49.5%
34%
16.5%
103
• “It does not seem that the postverbal position in V1 sentences
is pragmatically specialized.” (Rouveret 2004: 196)
(Only strict V1 clauses considered, i.e. not introduced by a coordinator)
*These will be discussed independently.
15
Examples
Topic subjects
• Curecerent s' en les princes des Philistiens
get-angry-PST refl-gen the princes of the Philistians
‘Got angry at this the princes of the Philistians’
(1170-QLR1-2,.1332)
• Cunuit Brandans a
l' air pluius
‘knew Brendan from the wet wind
Que li tens
ert mult annüus.
‘that the weather was very worrysome’
(1120-BRENDAN,56.675)
16
Orange underline: prose texts
• Alternation between Topic & Focus before 1200
• V1 declaratives disappear around 1200.
• When they re-emerge at the end of the 13th c., the subjects seem to
be foci; but few examples.
17
V1 with verbs introducing direct discourse
• VS = V1
– Dit Roland: « ... »
• SVX = V2 with preverbal subject
– Roland dit: « ... »
• XVS = V2 with a postverbal subject
– Ço dit Roland: « ... » = preverbal object
– Donc dit Roland: « ... » = preverbal adverb
• Same informational function of the subject:
signal a new speaker or a change of speaker
18
• Excluded (subject always postverbal):
o Parentheticals:
"Deus", dist li quens, "or ne sai jo que face." (1100ROLAND,148.2000)
o Clauses following the direct discourse:
"Si fus," (ce) dist li empereres.
CASSIDORUS,659.4349)
(1267-
19
Subjects of verbs introducing direct discourse
are almost always definite
V1
SVX
XVS
definite indefinite
232
3
175
2
166
2
99%
0,1%
Total
235
177
168
580
20
VS sentences were replaced, not by XVS sentences, but by SVX sentences.
21
V2 clauses
22
Rinke & Meisel
German
• Preverbal constituent
–
–
–
–
topic
contrastive focus
informational focus
adverb that is neither topic
nor focus
• Postverbal subject
– topic
– (part of the) focus
Old French
• Preverbal constituent
– topic
– adverb that links with the
previous discourse (+/- topic)
• Postverbal subject
– (part of the) focus
(based on Villehardouin & Les 7 sages de
Rome, beginning 13th c.)
23
Can a contrastive focus be preverbal?
YES.
24
Contrastive focus - subjects
• Meïsmes la pucele y fu,
‘even the girl
was there’ (1267-CASSIDORUS,149.1211)
• Sul David é Jonathas le sourent.
‘only David and Jonathan knew it’
• nes li oisel s' an istront fors;
‘even the birds will leave’
(1170 QLR1-2,.757)
(1170-YVAIN,13.394)
25
Contrastive focus – non-subjects
• Meïsmes a l' empereour sont les lermes venues aus yex,
‘even to the emperor have the tears come to the eyes’
(1267-CASSIDORUS,664.4447)
• Et li jorz meïsmes fu emprise la queste dou saint Graal ...
‘and that very day was started the quest for the holy Grail’
(1225-QUESTE,104.2769)
Example with a null subject :
• del tranchant, non mie del plat, le fiert ...
‘with the cutting edge, not with the flat side, (he) hits him’
(1170-YVAIN,128.4433)
26
Subjects
• Given that:
– Definite subjects tend to be topics;
– Indefinite subjects make bad topics & are often found in
thetic sentences;
• Is there a tendency to find definite subjects preverbally and
indefinite subjects postverbally?
27
Strictly V2 clauses:
28
• Whether preverbally or postverbally, definite subjects strongly
dominate.
• A large number of the post-verbal definite subjects should be
topics.
(Not quantified)
29
Indefinite subjects appear more often in postverbal position:
Total number of indefinites: 192.
Increase in tendency of indef. sbj. to appear in postverbal position:
30
Can preverbal subjects be part of the
information focus?
YES.
31
Examples
Preverbal indefinite subjects = focus
• Uns seinz hermites i maneit
‘A saint hermit lived there’
(1180-MARIE-DE-FRANCE,182.3715)
• Une musteile vint curant,
‘A weasel
came running’
(1180-MARIE-DE-FRANCE,187.3815)
• Doi gentil homme du paÿs, qui pas ne l' amoient, saillirent
hors a un trespas,
‘Two gentlemen of the country, who didn’t like him, jumped
out at a passage’
(1267-CASSIDORUS,643.4056)
32
Preverbal constituents that can’t
be topics & are part of
information focus
Adj, Q, Pred, Non-finite V
33
Preverbal Q, non finite V
• QP: Mut est LanvalTop en grant esfreie!
‘much is Lanval in great fright’
(1180-Marie de France, 78.1592)
• nfV: Trenchet li ad li quensTop le destre poign,
cut
him has the count
the right hand
‘The count cut his right hand’
(1100 Roland,142.1926)
34
Preverbal adj, pred.
• adj: Malade ot geü longuemant la pucele,
‘sick
has laid a-long-time the girl’
(1177-YVAIN,177.6235)
• prd: Male chose est murmure,
‘bad thing is whisper’
(1279-SOMME-ROYAL,1,64.1758)
35
Objects
• Is a preverbal object an informational topic or
focus?
• There was a change.
36
Work of Marchello-Nizia (1995)
• Roland (1100) [verse]
OV(S) extremely frequent, all types of O’s
– O more often rhematic than thematic (M-N. p. 99-100)
• Queste (1225) [prose]
OV(S) more limited; serves to
– thematize the O
– place the rheme in first position (marked)
• in expressions of type donner conseil (give advice)
• when O is modified by an intensifier like grant (great), maint
(many)
(Same found by Zaring (2010) for OV with non-finite verbs)
37
253 preverbal objects
Preverbal objects tend to be focus before 1220 and topics afterwards.
38
Preverbal indefinite focus object
• .XX. escheles ad li reis anumbrees.
‘twenty columns has the king counted’
(1100-ROLAND,112.1459)
• et divers chanz chantoit chascuns;
‘and various songs sang each one’
(1170-YVAIN,15.453)
39
Preverbal definite focus object
• La main destre leva adonques la dame,
‘The hand right raised then the lady’ (1177 Yvain,202.7065)
• La maniere comment il pristrent la cité de Baudas et le calife
nous conterent les marcheans;
‘The manner how they took the city of Baudas and the calife
told us the merchants’
(1309 Joinville,289.3370)
40
Preverbal adverbials and PP’s
•
•
•
•
Are they topics?
Preverbal adverbs & PP are rarely the topic.
They may (or not) link with the previous discourse.
Postverbal definite subjects tend to be topics (still to
quantify)
41
Preverbal focus PP
• En grant effrei erent amdui.
‘In great fright were both (of them)’
(1180-MARIE-DE-FRANCE,20.359)
• Here the PP is clearly the informational focus
• The post-verbal subject is the topic.
42
Preverbal PP linking with discourse
• Por ce panse mes sire Yvains qu' il l' ocirra premieremant;
‘For this thinks my lord Yvains that he will kill him first’
(1177-YVAIN,102.3563)
• Del colp chancelad li gluz
‘At the blow faltered the giant’
(1170 QLR1-2,.470)
• The postverbal subjects are the topics;
• The preverbal PP may link with the previous discourse without
being the topic.
43
Preverbal adv + topic subject
• Si demora laienz Perceval avec s' antain.
‘thus stayed there Perceval with his aunt’
(1225-QUESTE,107.2806)
• donc pres Lethgiers a predier,
‘ thus starts Leger to pray’ (0980-SAINT-LEGER,XXXI.206)
• Puis vait li emfes l' emperethur servir.
‘then goes the child the emperor to serve’
(1090-SAINT-ALEXIS,7.80)
44
Is there an evolution?
•
What is the distribution of preverbal constituents in V2
sentences with a full DP subject?
(6336 clauses)
45
Only V2 clauses not introduced by a coordinator
Other = acc, dat, adj, pred, non-fin V.
Means XP V : Verse: sbj = 55%; avp+pp = 31%; other = 14%
Prose: sbj = 57%; avp+pp = 39%; other = 5%)
46
Sentences of type : coord XP V
Coord = et, ou, mais, car (/que)
47
Stronger tendency of coordinated sentences to be SVX.
Coord. = et, ou, mais, car (/que)
48
All V2 sentences: strictly V2 + coord. V2
Coord.: et, ou, mais, car (/que)
Means XP V : Verse: sbj = 58%; avp+pp = 29%; other = 17%
Prose: sbj = 64%; avp+pp = 33%; other = 5%)
49
XP V and coord XP V:
50
Old French (XP V & coord XP V)
Subjects
Objects
Adv. & PP’s
Others
OF Verse
58%
7%
29%
10%
OF Prose
64%
3%
33%
2%
(XP V only: sbj = 55%, 57%; avp+pp = 31%, 39%; other = 14%, 5%.)
Constituents in the prefield in German & Swedish
(Bohnacker & Rosen 2007 :34 & 36)
Subjects
54%
Objects
6.6%
Adverbials
36.8%
Others
2.5%
German informal
50%
7%
Swedish newsp.
64%
2.3%
42%
30.8%
1%
3%
Swedish informal
73%
3%
23%
2%
German
newspapers
51
Bohnacker & Rosen (2007)
• Both Swedish and German tend to:
– start declaratives with a subject
– let the subject coincide with the theme and topic
– place the theme before the rheme
• But Swedish has a stronger tendency to:
– place the rheme after the verb;
– start with an element of low informational value and with
a phonologically light element (e.g. expletive, det, så)
– use few fronted objects; typically fronts objects that are
themes
52
• Different uses of the prefield in different V2 languages
• Distribution of constituents in the prefield similar in OF and in
Germanic languages.
• Evolution from V2German to V2Swedish?
(Conflation of 2 variables: time & genre)
53
Conclusions (1)
• Is there evidence that OF was Topic initial?
• No :
– In OF, a preverbal element may be :
– topic
– informational focus
– contrastive focus
– adverbial that is neither topic nor focus
– Distribution of types of preverbal constituents not
markedly different between OF and German/Swedish
54
Conclusions (2)
• Is there a constraint that forces a subject to move to
the preverbal position if it is a topic?
• No:
– In OF, a postverbal subject may be a topic or a part of the
focus
55
Conclusion (3)
• Is there a tendency for the language to become more topic
initial?
• Potential indicators of a change in progress:
– V1 sentences : No topic subjects after 1170 (few examples)
– V2 sentences:
• Fewer preverbal object focus after 1220.
• Increase in the tendency to find indefinite subjects postverbally
• Differences between prose and verse in the variety of preverbal
constituents.
• But no evidence of a clear grammatical change before 1309
(in sentences with a full DP subject).
56
Conclusion (4)
• From an information structure viewpoint, OF is V2 of
the germanic type until the end of the 13th c.
• But there might have been a change
from V2German to V2Swedish
• To do:
– Quantify the IS nature of DP subjects in all the V2 clauses;
– Study V2 clauses with pronominal and null subjects.
– Study V3 declaratives
57
Thank you!
58
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\0980: (*LEGER* inID)
\1090: (*ALEXIS* inID)
\1120: (*BRENDAN* inID)
\1100: (*ROLAND* inID)
\1150: (*WILLELME* inID)
\1170: (*QLR* inID)
\1177: (*YVAIN* inID)
\1180: (*MARIE* inID)
\1194: (*CHIEVRES* inID)
\1200: (*AUCASSIN* inID)
\1205: (*CLARI* inID)
\1220: (*PSEUDOTURPIN* inID)
\1225: (*QUESTE* inID)
\1226: (*AGNES* inID)
\1250: (*SERMON* inID)
\1267: (*CASSIDORUS* inID)
\1279: (*SOMME* inID)
\1283: (*Roisin* inID)
\1309: (*JOINVILLE* inID)
59