1. FOCUS PLACEMENT AND VERB SECOND IN THE HISTORY OF FRENCH B. Devan Steiner Indiana University March 10, 2015

2. Questions Was 13 th Century French a V2 language? How do we account for V>2 declarative matrix clauses? How can Information Structure/Left Periphery help diagnose V2 grammar?

3. Arguments Understanding of V2 (Haegman 1997, 2012; Holmberg 2011; Poletto 2002; Roberts 2004) V to Fin EPP on FinP More than one type of V>2 clause Some permitted in V2, some not Information Structure is KEY Syntax and Information Structure coded independently of each other

4. Verb Second: 13 th Century Ansi diroit il les choses qui seroient fetes… Thus would.say he the things that would.be done “Thus he would say the things that would be done” Li ennemis ne s’oublia mie The devil NEG forgot hardly “The devil did not forget at all” Adverb Subject

5. Verb Second: 13 th Century Et en ce tens estoit costume que… and in this time was the.custom that… “And the custom at the time was that…” et por ce que tu l’ as trespassee, and for this that you it have trespassed, t’ enchargerai je ta penitence you giveFUT. I your penitence “And because you have committed this misdeed, I will charge you with your penance” Prepositional phrase Clause

6. Verb Second FinP Fin’ TP T’ ainsi Fin o il diroit Ansi diroit il les choses qui seroient fetes… Thus would.say he the things that would.be done “Thus he would the things that would be done” V to Fin EPP

7. V>2: 13 th Century devant vostre conseil nos vos dirons ce que before your council we to.you tellFUT what nostre seignor vos mandent our lord to.you tells “And we will tell you before your council what our lord commands you” Dont cele hautesce ne puet clarez asommer Thus this highness NEG can claret achieve ne ataindre NEG attain “Thus claret can neither achieve nor attain this highness” PP & Subj Adv + Obj

8. V>2: 13 th Century Et nos aliens, si les prenoiens And our prisoners, SI them take.IMP.1.P et les tormentiens plus que les autres and them torment.IMP.1.P more than the others “And our prisoners, we took them and tormented them more than the others” D.O. & “si”

9. V>2: German [Den Hans] DEN kenne ich seit Langem The-ACC Hans him known I since long “I have known Hans for a long time” [Hans], jeder mag ihn Hans, everyone likes him “Everyone likes Hans”

10. Left Periphery: V2 FocP FinP Fin’ TP Devant vostre conseil nos vos dirons TopP FrameP ForceP devant vostre conseil nos vos dirons ce que nostre seignor vos mandent Benincà (2004, 2006)

11. Left Periphery: V2 V2= V to Fin; EPP Only certain V>2 clauses permitted in V2 grammar EPP blocks movement beyond SpecFin (Roberts 2004) Base generation “doesn’t count” (Holmberg 2011) SpecTopic and SpecFrame – Base Generation SpecFocus – Move

12. Left Periphery: V2 V>2 Clause TypeV2 GrammarNon-V2 Grammar Frame XP VPossible Topic XP VPossible Focus XP VNOPossible Other factors may restrict the frequency of V>2 clauses in V2 languages

13. Information Structure The way in which speakers present new, old, and important information, as well as link an utterance to the rest of the discourse. (e.g. Reinhart 1981; Gundel 1985; Speyer 2008) Topic, Focus & Frame-Setting

14. Topic What the sentence is about (Reinhart 1981; Krifka 2007; etc.) [Barack Obama] T visited Chicago last month for the NATO summit Aboutness, familiar, contrastive

15. Focus New, relevant or important information (about the topic) “it is X, and not other members of the salient set containing X, although they would have been equally eligible.” (Rooth 1985) {What book did you read?} [I] T read [THE GREAT GATSBY] F New Information, Contrastive

16. Frame-Setters In (X, Y), X is the frame for Y iff X specifies a domain of (possible) reality to which the proposition expressed by Y is restricted. (Jacobs 2001) When she left the house that morning, [Sarah] T had no idea it would rain. Because of the rain Sarah’s files were ruined. Separate from Topic

17. Corpus 8 texts 2 texts each from the 13 th, 14 th, 15 th, and 16 th century 2400 declarative matrix clauses 300 sentences per text, collected in 100 sentence groups

18. Diachronic subject position

19. X 2 =89.15294, d.f.=6, p<0.001 13 th :non-SV > SV (z=4.2724, p<0.001) 14 th -16 th : SV > non-SV (z=3.8105, p<0.001) SVVSNull Subject 13 th 25943%11318.8%22838.2% 14 th 33355.5%7913.2%18831.3% 15 th 36460.7%518.5%18530.8% 16 th 37462.3%294.8%19732.8% total133555.6%27311.4%79233%

20. Diachronic subject position SV:13 th -14 th (z=4.3306, p<0.001) 14 th -15 th (z=0.1871, p=0.8493) 15 th -16 th (z=0.5933, p=0.552) SVVSNull Subject 13 th 25943%11318.8%22838.2% 14 th 33355.5%7913.2%18831.3% 15 th 36460.7%518.5%18530.8% 16 th 37462.3%294.8%19732.8% total133555.6%27311.4%79233%

21. Diachronic subject position VS:13 th -14 th (z=2.6772, p=0.00736) 14 th -15 th (z=2.6007, p=0.00932) 15 th -16 th (z=2.546, p=0.01078) SVVSNull Subject 13 th 25943%11318.8%22838.2% 14 th 33355.5%7913.2%18831.3% 15 th 36460.7%518.5%18530.8% 16 th 37462.3%294.8%19732.8% total133555.6%27311.4%79233%

22. Descriptive verb position

23. Descriptive Verb Position X 2 =70.28668, d.f.=6, p<0.001 13 th : V2 > non-V2(z=15.3575, p<0.001) 14 th : V2 > non-V2(z=3.4641, p<0.01) V1V2V>2 13 th 579.5%43372.2%11018.3% 14 th 10116.8%33055%16928.2% 15 th 8814.7%32353.8%18931.5% 16 th 6811.3%32654.3%20634.4% Total31413.1%141258.8%67428.1%

24. Descriptive Verb Position V2:13 th – 14 th (z=6.1791, p<0.001) 14 th – 15 th (z=0.4057, p=0.6818) V>2:13 th – 14 th (z=4.0319, p<0.01) 14 th – 15 th (z=1.2619, p=0.20766) V1V2V>2 13 th 579.5%43372.2%11018.3% 14 th 10116.8%33055%16928.2% 15 th 8814.7%32353.8%18931.5% 16 th 6811.3%32654.3%20634.4% Total31413.1%141258.8%67428.1%

25. V>2 sentences: 13 th C [Quant il orent une piece esté FS ], [si NA ] dist li rois When they had some time been, SI said the king a un de ses chevaliers to one of his knights. “When they had been some time, the kid said to one of his knights…” (Merlin en prose l. 38.25-27) [ForceP [FrameP [TopP [FocP[ FinP]]]]] 75% of V>2 are subordinate clause initial in 13th C

26. V>2 sentences: 13 th C Et [lors FS ] [je AbTop ] sai tout vraiement qu’ il istront and so I know all truly that they will.go hors pour ce que il cuideront que ce soit voirs… out for this that they will.believe that this is.SUBJ truth… “So I absolutely know that they will go outside because they will believe that this is true…” (Cassidorus, circa 1267, §36) [ForceP [FrameP [TopP [FocP[ FinP]]]]]

27. V>2 sentences: 13 th C [Dont FS ] [cele hautesce NIFoc ] ne puet clarez asommer Thus this highness NEG can claret achieve ne ataindre NEG attain “Thus claret can neither achieve nor attain this highness” (Cassidorus, circa 1267, §34) [ForceP [FrameP [TopP [FocP[ FinP]]]]]

28. V>2 sentences: 13 th C Et [Merlins AbTop ], [si tost coment il fut hors FS ], prist And Merlin, as soon as he was outside, took la semblance dou garcon qui ot aportees les letres the appearance of.the boy who had brought the letters “And Merlin, as soon as he was outside, took on the appearance of the boy who brought the letters” (Merlin en prose §37.56-58) [ForceP [FrameP [TopP [FocP[ FinP]]]]]

29. Value of XXV constituent (V>2) X 2 =63.4318, d.f.=18, p<0.001 13 th -14 th :Topic (z=0.6515, p=0.5157) Focus (z=1.007, p=0.3125) Frame (z=0.5231, p=0.60306) w.r.t. focus  EPP present (*Focus XP V) TopicFocusFrameNon-IS 13 th 1513.6%43.6%9182.7%00% 14 th 1911%116.4%13880.2%42.3% 15 th 147.3%4121.4%13067.7%73.6% 16 th 209.6%2210.6%16378.4%31.4%

30. Value of XXV constituent (V>2) 14 th -15 th :Topic (z=1.2456, p=0.2113) Focus (z=4.0718, p<0.001) Frame (z=2.7072, p<0.01) w.r.t. focus  15 th C EPP no longer active? TopicFocusFrameNon-IS 13 th 1513.6%43.6%9182.7%00% 14 th 1911%116.4%13880.2%42.3% 15 th 147.3%4121.4%13067.7%73.6% 16 th 209.6%2210.6%16378.4%31.4%

31. Focus XP V [de force hastive FOC ] il s’ en retourna of force urgent he REFL en returned contre les Troyens foursenans against the Trojans furiously “With urgent force he furiously turned back against the Trojans” (Perceforeste, 14 th C) [De cela Foc ], ma commere, je ne me soucy point. Of that, my friend, I NEG REFL worry hardly “Of that, I hardly worry, my dear” (Les Quinze Joyes de Mariage, 15 th C)

32. Focus XP V aussi [le plus souvent FOC ] [par ses gens FOC ] Also the most often, by his people [ses devocions et offrandes FOC ] faisoit faire, his devotions and offerings made.3.s to.make “Also, most frequently, he made his people make his devotions and offerings…” (Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, 15 th C)

33. Focus XP V Mais [du surplus de la vie au jaloux NIFOCUS ] But of the rest of the life to.the jealous [de ses affères et mainières et mantiens NIFOCUS ] of his affairs and manners and conduct ceste histoire se taist. this story REFL quiets “But as to the rest of the jealous one’s life and his life and manners and conduct, the story is quiet.” (Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, 15 th C)

34. Premierement [premierement FOC ] je rens graces a Dieu, Firstly I give thanks to God et a vous apres de l’ onneur and to you after of the honor dont il m’ a presentement pourveue that they to.me have presently provided “Firstly, I give thanks to God and afterward to you for the honor that they have given me” (Mélusine, 14 th c)

35. Premierement Gauvains le creanta premierement, et Lancelot apres Gawain it promised first, and Lancelot after “First, Gawain promised it, and then Lancelot did” (Queste del saint graal, 13 th c) Car tout premierement avoies tu virginité herbergiee For all firstly had you virginity housed en toi si naturelment que onques ne l’ avoies in you so naturally that never NEG it had.2.s enfrainte ne en volenté ne en oevre broken NEG by desire NEG by act “For first of all, you have fostered virginity so naturally in yourself that it has never been lost, neither by desire nor by act” (Queste del saint graal, 13 th c)

36. Ordered Build-up SyntaxIS (V>2)V2 13 th V2; non-SV*Focus XP VEPP; V to Fin 14 th rise V>2; SV*Focus XP VEPP; V to Fin 15 th Stable V>2; SVFocus XP VEPP?