Impersonals and other agent defocusing constructions in French / Michel Achard, Rice University.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Achard, Michel, 1959- author.

Series:

Human cognitive processing ; v. 50.

Human Cognitive Processing, 1387-6724 ; volume 50

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

French language--Pronoun.

French language.

French language--Subjectless constructions.

French language--Semantics.

Cognitive grammar.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (382 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Publishing Company, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book investigates French impersonals as a functional category. Any structure whose agent is defocused and whose predicate describes a situation stable enough to be generally available should be considered impersonal. In addition to il impersonals, the category also includes demonstrative (ce/ça), middle (se), and indefinite (on) structures. These different forms belong to the same functional category because they systematically code general and predictable events that cannot be imputed to a specific cause. Because generality and predictability are gradual notions, impersonals can only be identified within the context of specific constructional islands which therefore constitute the organizing principle of the French impersonal category.Conducted in Cognitive Grammar, the analysis follows the functional tradition in expanding the scope of French impersonals beyond il constructions, but also proposes a way of precisely delineating the category. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in impersonal constructions and French linguistics.

Contents:

Impersonals and other Agent Defocusing Constructions in French

Editorial page

Title page

LCC data

Table of contents

Preface

Chapter 1. Narrow and broad impersonals: Definitions and scope of analysis

1. Beyond structural analyses

2. Toward a French impersonal functional category

3. The French impersonal category

4. A constructional proposal

5. Recapitulation and discussion

6. Outline of the following chapters

Chapter 2. A cognitive approach to French impersonals

Chapter 3. The semantic range of impersonals

Chapter 4. Simple impersonals: Patterns of usage

Chapter 5. Complex impersonals

Chapter 6. Demonstrative (ça) impersonals

Chapter 7. Middle (se) impersonals

Chapter 8. Indefinite (on, ils) impersonals

Chapter 9. Recapitulation and conclusion

7. A note on the methodology and data

1. A symbolic view of language

1.1 Conceptual semantics

1.2 The conceptual base of clause structure

1.3 The prototypical coding of clause structure: The transitive clause

2. Defocusing strategies

2.1 Alternative trajector selection

2.2 Identification and delimitation

3. Grammatical constructions

4. Recapitulation and conclusion

Chapter 3. The semantic range of il impersonals

1. Introduction

2. Simple and complex impersonals

3. Status of impersonal il

3.1 "Dummy" il?

3.2 The field

3.3 Semantics and Information structure

4. The semantic range of simple impersonals

4.1 Distribution of predicates with simple impersonals

4.2 Presence of the setting in the predicates' lexical semantic structure

4.3 Comparison with structural accounts

5. Recapitulation and conclusion

2. Usage and grammar

2.1 Usage and idioms.

2.2 The core and periphery of simple impersonal usage

3. The core: Existential predicates

3.1 Exister

3.2 Relative existence: Rester and manquer

3.2.1 Rester

3.2.2 Manquer

3.3 Recapitulation

4. Il y a: Existence and location

4.1 Existence

4.2 Location

4.3 The field

5. The periphery: Arriver, venir, passer

5.1 Arriver

5.2 Venir

5.3 Passer

6. Recapitulation: Simple impersonals

1. Introduction. Complex impersonals: Forms and functions

2. Epistemic evaluation: Reality, events, and propositions

3. The complex impersonal domain

4. Complement forms: Events and proposition

5. Predicates, events, and propositions

5.1 Deontic predicates

5.2 Evaluative predicates

5.3 Epistemic predicates

5.4 Occurrence predicates

5.5 Recapitulation

6. Impersonal passives

7. Recapitulation and conclusion

Chapter 6. Demonstrative impersonals

1. Introduction: Il and ça impersonals

2. Semantic function of demonstratives: Identification, categorization, and evaluation

3. Semantic properties of demonstratives

3.1 Ça and flexible reference

3.2 A subjective construal of the referent

3.3 Ça has no strict cataphoric sense

4. Two impersonal constructions in the copular complement construction

5. Distribution of il and ça impersonals

5.1 Il and ça in Les mandarins

5.2 Vrai

6. Recapitulation and conclusion

Chapter 7. Middle impersonals

2. French pronominal verbs

2.1 Constructions neutres and moyennes

2.2 The French "middle domain"

3. From spontaneous events to impersonals

3.1 Two main groups of predicates

3.2 Conceptual structure of the two classes

3.3 Generality and responsibility

4. Two impersonal constructions

5. Discussion

6. Recapitulation and conclusion.

Chapter 8. Indefinite impersonals

2. Pronouns and other nominals: Semantic functions

2.1 Layered semantic functions

2.2 Grounding: Subjectivity and dynamicity

2.3 Pronouns as nominals

2.4 On: Minimal specification

3. Patterns of use: From personal to indefinite

4. Indefinite impersonals

4.1 Minimal delimitation by homogenization

4.2 Delimitation by generalization of individual experience (virtualization)

Chapter 9. Concluding remarks

1. Recapitulation

2. Do we need a French impersonal class?

3. Advantages of the analysis

References

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9789027269072

9027269076

OCLC:

893317168