Constraints on Distributive Coordination
Abstract
The paper argues that the distributive conjunction construction formed in English by both XP and XP and in Italian by sia XP che XP is best analyzed as a sentential conjunction reduced by a combination of fronting operations and across-the-board raising. The distribution of this type of conjunction has a number of peculiar restrictions, compared to ‘plain’ coordination. The analysis accounts for these restrictions by showing a strong correlation between constituents that may appear in both/and or sia/che and constituents that may undergo A-bar fronting, including independently motivated interlinguistic variations. The paper puts forth a novel proposal to extend the analysis to non-final positions – a major stumbling block for analogous theories in the past.
Submitted: July 3, 2025 | Accepted: Aug. 19, 2025 | Published Forthcoming | Language: en
Keywords Conjunction • Distributivity • Syntax-semantics interface • Italian • Both • Sia • Coordination
Copyright © 2025 Roberto Zamparelli. 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/AnnOc/2499-1562/2025/14/008