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On Greek VSO again!

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2006

ANNA ROUSSOU  and
IANTHI-MARIA TSIMPLI
ANNA ROUSSOU
Affiliation:
University of Patras
IANTHI-MARIA TSIMPLI
Affiliation:
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
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Abstract

In the present paper we provide an account of VSO in Greek and its (relative) absence in Italian, despite the fact that both languages allow for postverbal subjects. We argue that this parametric difference reduces to different lexicalisation options regarding the D-system of the two grammars. We assume that the clause structure divides into three basic domains (V, T, and C), and that nominal (clitic) positions are available in each of these domains, which, as we argue, can be lexicalised not only by clitics but also by full DPs. On this basis, we argue that the subject and object DP in Greek can appear in the same domain (V), as they spell out different features depending on their grammatical function, while this is not so in Italian, given that DPs spell out the same set of features irrespective of their grammatical function. This basic difference is responsible for the presence of VSO in Greek but not in Italian. We also consider the implications of our approach for the interpretation of subjects and arguments in general.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , July 2006 , pp. 317 - 354
Copyright
2006 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

We would like to thank Rita Manzini, Ian Roberts, Neil Smith and Tasos Tsangalidis for discussions on the topic. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the 25th GLOW Colloquium in Amsterdam (April 2002), the Workshop on Greek Syntax and the Minimalist Seduction in Reading (September 2002), and the UCL Postgraduate Alumni Reunion Conference (September 2003). We thank all audiences as well as the two anonymous JL referees for their useful comments.