Creo - Grupo de Gramática do Español

What’s the matter with main clauses?
An emergentist account of complement constructions
Victoria Vázquez Rozas
[email protected]
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
Complement constructions
1.
Complement clauses
a. The standard view
b. Evidence against the standard view
c. The binding hierarchy (Givón 1980)
2.
3.
4.
What’s the matter with main clauses?
Analysis of the Spanish data
Conclusions
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
The standard view
“By complementation we mean the syntactic situation that arises
when a notional sentence or predication is an argument of a
predicate. For our purposes, a predication ca be viewed as an
argument of a predicate if it functions as the subject or object of
that predicate” (Noonan 1985: 42)
“A complement clause is a subordinate clause that functions as
an argument with respect to a governing element (the head)”
(Achard 1998: 28)
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Consequences of the standard view
ƒ
It emphasizes the syntactic and distributional similarity of
complement clauses and nominal (and pronominal) elements in
object (or, less frequently, subject) function.[ex.]
ƒ
The emphasis on the identity between (pro)nominal and clausal
constituents draws attention away from the main clause. Besides,
the great diversity of complement clauses both across languages
and in a particular language demands large research.
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Basic syntactic types of complement clauses in Spanish
Infinitive
(1) No dejaré a mi yerno chuparlo todo en Roccasera
‘I won’t let my son-in-law own everything in Roccasera’
(2) Roosevelt y Churchil decidieron abandonar a su antiguo aliado
‘R. & C. decided to abandon their former ally’
Subjunctive
(3) Siento que te vaya tan mal
‘I am sorry you are going so bad’
Indicative
(4) Plácida Linero pensó que había pasado el peligro
‘P.L. thought that the danger had come to an end’
(5) Creo que no tengo ni vocación ni talento
‘I suppose that I have neither vocation nor talent’
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Aim of the analyses based in the standard view
To describe and explain the differences in meaning and distribution
of different types of complement clauses
Focus of research:
ƒ The morpho-syntactic coding of embedded clauses
ƒ The semantic class of the matrix verb, which seems to correlate with
the syntactic type of the embedded clause.
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
Evidence against the standard view
Thompson (2002)
– discusses the ‘object status’ of complement clauses
– points to the restrictions in the argument structure of the ‘complement
taking predicates’ (CTP)
– highlights the modal-evaluative communicative function of CTP
Parenthetical constructions
Hoffmann (1926) refers to the use of “verba dicendi and cogitandi” as
parentheses within the sentences “which only indicate a subjective
attitude of the speaker and they tend to get petrified almost like particles
and to enclitizise”. Ex.: (Cic.) magnum, credo, acciperet dolorem.
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Evidence against the standard view
•
•
As for Spanish:
Strong tendency of verbs creer ‘believe/think’ and pensar ‘think’ to be used
in 1st p s present tense with clausal objects (Weber & Bentivoglio 1991)
Parenthetical uses:
(i) Es que si a usted no le dejasen invitar a quien usted estimase oportuno, usted
no estaría aquí, supongo. (CREA. España, oral)
‘The thing is if you were not allowed to invite whoever you felt appropriate, you
would not be here, I suppose’
(ii) han debido ser unos momentos terribles, me imagino ¿no? (CREA. España,
oral)
‘Those must have been terrible moments, I imagine, right?’
These facts
facts suggest
suggest that
that the
the use
use of
of complement
complement clauses
clauses is
has
some
These
also
effects
oninthe
clauses
reflected
themain
syntax
and semantics of the main clauses.
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The ‘binding hierarchy’ (Givón 1980)
Givón (1980) shows that the syntactic structure of the complement
clauses correlates strongly with the relative independence of the
event coded by the subordinate verb with respect to the main event.
Givón’s account is intended to explain the relation between the
meaning of main verbs and complement constructions, but it can be
extended to the cases where the same verb takes different
complement types.
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What is the matter with main clauses?
The relative (in)dependence of the complement clause is reflected
also in the syntax and semantics of the main clause
At the syntactic level: a higher degree of independence of the
embedded clause correlates with the narrowing of combinatory possibilities
of the main verb, while more dependent complements (more similar to
nominal objects) determine the least restrictions in the morpho-syntactic
construction of the matrix verb.
At the semantic-conceptual level: the propositional-referential
meaning of the main clause go through a subjectivization process, and, as a
consequence, the main clause no longer stands for a ‘real’ event (a
situation with its participants and circumstances).
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
The data
The ARTHUS corpus of the University of Santiago de Compostela.
Syntactic data for each of the 158,954 clauses are recorded in the
Base de datos sintácticos del español actual ‘Syntactic database of
contemporary Spanish’ (http://www.bds.usc.es/)
Genre
Words
%
Clauses
%
Essay
257.718
17,78%
20.013 12,59%
Narrative
538.906
37,19%
72.425 45,56%
Oral
273.070
18,85%
25.143 15,82%
Journalism
166.804
11,51%
13.247
Theatre
212.507
14,66%
28.126 17,69%
Total
1.449.005
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158.954
8,33%
Table 1. The most frequent verbs in SUBJECT-DIR.OBJ (cl que+
indicative) pattern and percentage of the construction over the total uses of
the verb (BDS data)
Verb
Frequency
%
1198
77.24
saber ‘know’
549
22.84
pensar ‘think’
412
52.02
decir ‘say’
363
43.70
ver ‘see’
226
9.89
recordar ‘remember’
157
24.38
comprender ‘understand’
106
33.97
suponer ‘suppose’
96
43.24
asegurar ‘assure’
93
69.92
afirmar ‘claim’
87
71.31
considerar ‘consider’
82
80.39
creer ‘believe’
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Fig. 1. Distribution of the subject’s person
70
60
50
40
1st s
2nd s
3rd s
30
20
10
0
Total BDS
(124,107)
Cogn v
(3,833)
Cogn v +
compl
(1,796)
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Fig. 2. Distribution of the indicative present
80
70
60
50
40
Ind pres
30
20
10
0
Total BDS
(57,384/158,954)
Cogn v
(2,299/3,986)
Cogn v + compl
(1,280/1,819)
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Fig. 3. Distribution of the subject’s person according to the
category of the direct object
80
70
60
50
1st p s
2nd p s
3rd p s
40
30
20
10
0
NP
Inf Cl
"que" Cl + "que" Cl +
subj
indic
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Fig. 4. Distribution of the verbal tense (indicative present)
according to the category of the direct object
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Indicative present
NP
Inf Cl
"que Cl + "que" Cl
subj
+ indic
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Fig. 5. Relative distribution of 1st person subjects and indicative
present tense in main clauses (pred: creer, pensar, suponer,
considerar) according to the type of complement clause in object
function
80
70
60
50
Inf Cl
"que" Cl + ind
40
30
20
10
0
1st p s
Ind pres
1st p pres
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
The effects of the complement constructions on the main
clauses. Some examples.
Temer que+subjunctive
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
Ella guardó silencio, me miró sorprendida, y yo temí que se negara (Sur: 92, 25)
‘She was quiet, she looked at me surprised, and I was afraid that she denied’
Miró a derecha e izquierda, como si temiera que alguien pudiera estarnos
escuchando (Laberinto: 238, 13)
‘S/he looked at the right and the left as if s/he were afraid that someone could be
listening to us’
[Jano] temía que se enrareciera la atmósfera del balneario (Carta: 71, 1)
‘[Jano] was afraid that the atmosphere of the spa got heavy’
Por primera vez temí que pudieras condenarte de verdad (Sur: 22, 21)
For the first time I was afraid that you could really be condemned
Cuando el telón hubo caído, la sala se hubo vaciado y despuntaba el alba
tras los alcores, empecé a temer que algo le hubiera pasado a mi Clotildita
(Laberinto: 155, 13)
‘When the curtain had fallen, the room was emptied, and rose the dawn behind the
hills, I started to fear that something had happened to my Clotildita’
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
The effects of the complement constructions on
the main clauses. Some examples.
Temer(se) que + indicative
(11) David empezaba a temer que las imágenes de los dos mundos […]
pertenecían a dos caras de la misma moneda (Jóvenes: 33, 37)
‘David started to fear that the images of the two worlds […] belonged to
the two heads of the same coin’
(12) Me temo que has agotado nuestra bodega (Hombre: 58, 5)
‘I’m afraid that you had drained our ‘wine-cellar’’
(13) Bien, bien, ahora es más claro […]. Temo que antes no lo había
entendido (Mirada: 17, 13)
‘Well, well, now is clearer […]. I’m afraid I hadn’t understood before’
(14) Mucho me temo que aunque hubieran encontrado lo que buscaban no
nos habrían dejado en paz (Laberinto: 82, 1)
‘I’m really afraid that even if they had found what they looked for, they
wouldn’t have let us in peace’
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The effects of the complement constructions on
the main clauses. Some examples.
Creer en + NP
(15) [N]o creyó del todo en tu enfermedad hasta que te encontró aquí a la
vuelta, tirado en la calle (Historias: 39, 5)
S/he didn’t believe entirely in your desease until he found you besides
here, dropped on the street’
(16) Hubo un tiempo en que yo creía en la resurrección de la carne y en el
perdón de los pecados (Ayer: 61, 31)
‘There was a time when didn’t believe in the resurrection of the flesh’
(17) Aquella noche yo empecé a creer en algo (Ochenta: 98, 11)
‘That night I started to believe in something’
(18) La Xunta cree "profundamente“ en el proyecto (2VOZ: 55, 2, 0, 1)
‘The Government deeply believes in the project’
(19) ¡Claro que creo en él! (Madrid: 141, 25)
Of course that I believe in him’
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The effects of the complement constructions on
the main clauses. Some examples.
Creer + infinitive
(20) De buena fe creí estar muerto (Laberinto: 130, 5)
‘Faithfully I believed to be dead’
(21) [P]retendía ser escritor, aunque pienso que ya creía serlo (Sur: 48, 9)
‘He intended to be a writer, even though I think that he already believed
to be’
(22) Pero no puedo menos de volver al pasado, cuando los cinco, mis
padres, mis hermanos y yo, creíamos tener la fórmula de la felicidad
(Jóvenes: 83, 16)
But I can’t even come back to the past, when we five, my parents, my
brothers and I believed to have the formula of the happiness’
(23) Creyó ahogarse sin remisión hasta que un golpe de tos le proveyó de
aire (Mirada: 20, 2)
S/he believed to drown her/himself without remission until a blow of
cough provided her/him of air’
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
The effects of the complement constructions on
the main clauses. Some examples.
Creer que + indicative
(24) Creía que su plata lo hacía intocable (Crónica: 101, 30)
‘S/he believed that her/his silver made her/him untouchable’
(25) Yo no necesitaba más para enamorarme, pues creía entonces que era
eso lo que me había ocurrido con él (Sur: 35, 8)
‘I didn’t need anything else to be in love, because I believed then that it
was what had happened to me about him’
(26) ¿Pero cuánto, cuánto cree que puede durar? (Jóvenes: 122, 34)
‘But how long, how long do you suppose that it can last?’
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
The effects of the complement constructions on
the main clauses. Some examples.
Creer que + indicative
(25) Creo que ya empiezo a ver (Ternura: 30, 27)
‘I think that I already start to see’
(26) Creo que no tengo ni vocación ni talento (Laberinto: 128, 34)
‘I suppose that I have neither vocation nor talent’
(27) Consulté el reloj: eran las cinco y cuarto. --Creo que voy a hacer otra
visita a la agencia (Laberinto: 87, 2)
‘I checked the watch: it was a quarter past five. I think that I will visit the
agency again’
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
The effects of the complement constructions on
the main clauses. Some examples.
Creer que + indicative (inserted)
(30) a ella la votaron creo que veinte mil (CREA, oral)
‘Probably twenty thousand (people) vote for her’
Creo (parenthetical)
(32) Usted está, creo, trabajando en un documental entorno [sic] a su país en
estos momentos (CREA, oral)
‘You are, I think, working on a documentary about your country at this
time’
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
Conclusions
Spanish corpus data presented do far seem to confirm the idea that
differences in complement constructions are shown also through main
clause patterns, both at the syntactic and at the conceptual level.
(i) At the syntactic level, a higher degree of independence of the embedded
clause correlates with the narrowing of combinatory possibilities of the
matrix verb, while, more dependent complements (more similar to nominal
objects) determine the least restrictions in the morpho-syntactic
construction of the matrix verb.
(ii) At the conceptual level, the propositional-referential meaning of the main
clause go through a subjectivization process, and, as a consequence, the
main clause no longer stands for a ‘real’ event (a situation with its
participants and circumstances).
10th ICLC (Krakow, July 2007)
References
Achard, Michel (1998): Representation of Cognitive Structures. Syntax and Semantics of French
Sentential Complements, Berlin, Mouton de Gruyter.
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hablado en Venezuela”. En A. Morales et al., eds., Estudios de la lingüística hispánica: homenaje
a María Vaquero, San Juan: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, pp. 90-109.
Cristofaro, Sonia (2003): Subordination, Oxford, Oxford UP.
Dixon, R.M.W. and Aikhenvald, Alexandra (2006): Complement clauses and complementation
strategies: a cross-linguistic typology, Oxfor, Oxford UP.
Givón, T. (1980): “The binding hierarchy and the typology of complements”, Studies in Language, 4/3,
333-377.
Hofmann, Johann Baptist (1926): Lateinische Umgangssprache, Heidelberg, Carl Winter. Translation
to Spanish of J. Corominas, El latín familiar, Madrid, Instituto Antonio de Nebrija, 1958.
Horie, Kaoru (2000): Complementation, Amsterdam, John Benjamins.
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functions, with a focus on ‘I think’, Amsterdam, John Benjamins.
Noonan, Michael (1985): “Complementation”. In Timothy Shopen (ed.), Language Typology and
Syntactic Description, II (Complex Constructions). Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 42140.
Thompson, Sandra A. (2002): “Object complements and conversation: Towards a realistic account”,
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to grammaticalization, II. Amsterdam, John Benjamins. 313-339.
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profile”. In S. Fleischman y Linda R. Waugh (eds.), Discourse-Pragmatics and the Verb,
Routledge, Londres y Nueva York. 194-213
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