Rivista | Armeniaca
Fascicolo | 1 | 2022
Articolo | Constructions clivées en arménien moderne
Constructions clivées en arménien moderne
Abstract
As in French or English, cleft constructions in Modern Armenian are biclausal constructions with a matrix clause and a relative-like clause, with an identificational clause as a matrix clause headed by a copula (in present or past), while in the relative-like clause introduced by the main subordinator, the relativised argument is coindexed with the argument of the copula. Typologically, cleft constructions are considered typical of languages with rigid word order; however, they are common in Modern Armenian, a language with flexible word order. It is argued that the intensity of focalisation depends on the strategy used, with simple prosody marking associated with the lowest level of intensity, and preverbal position and clefts associated with intermediate and high-intensity focalisation respectively. The existence of cleft-like constructions in Classical Armenian and both Modern Armenian standards is argued to be evidence of diachronic continuity and a possible grammaticalization path from cleft constructions to the auxiliary movement focus strategy.
Presentato: 20 Dicembre 2021 | Accettato: 07 Aprile 2022 | Pubblicato 28 Ottobre 2022 | Lingua: fr
Keywords Armenian • Grammaticalization • Cleft constructions • Syntax • Focalisation
Copyright © 2022 Victoria Khurshudyan, Anaïd Donabedian. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/arm/9372-8175/2022/01/010
