| Title: | Object Pronouns in the Evolution of Romanian: A Biolinguistic Perspective |
| Authors: | Anna Maria Di Sciullo, Stanca Somesfalean |
| Publication: | Formal Approaches to DPs in Old Romanian, Section The DP and the Clause, p. 269 |
| ISBN: | 978-90-04-28771-6 |
| Editors: | Virginia Hill |
| Publisher: | Brill |
| Place: | Leiden, Boston |
| Year: | 2015 |
| Abstract: | We examine pronominal objects in Old Romanian and show that the fluctuation in their position (pre-/post-verbal) and in their form (clitic/strong pronoun) is the result of the Directional Asymmetry Principle (DAP), a complexity-reducing principle proposed in Di Sciullo (2011), according to which language evolution is symmetry breaking. We show that DAP is sensitive to both derivational and representational complexity. Under its effects, on grounds of derivational complexity reduction, Romanian lost the discourse-driven verb movement that yielded enclisis. On grounds of representational (sensori-motor) complexity reduction, Romanian lost the use of strong pronouns in contexts that now only allow clitics. Thus, a fluctuating phase in the evolution of pronominal objects is followed by a phase where a preponderant use is attested (i.e. proclitics in Modern Romanian). We confirm previous findings on the diachronic development of the Romanian DP under the effects of DAP, showing the role of complexity reduction in language change. |
| Language: | English |
Citations to this publication: 0
References in this publication: 3
| 8 | Rodica Zafiu | Auxiliary encliticization in 16th century Romanian: restrictions and regularities | LA, 33 (2), 71-86 | 2014 | pdf html |
| 178 | Constantin Frâncu | Gramatica limbii române vechi (1521-1780) | Casa Editorială „Demiurg” | 2009 | |
| 131 | Ion Gheție (coord.) | Texte românești din secolul al XVI-lea I. Catehismul lui Coresi, II. Pravila lui Coresi, III. Fragmentul Todorescu, IV. Glosele Bogdan, V. Prefețe și epiloguri | Editura Academiei | 1982 |
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