Expletive negation (EN) is commonly considered to be a unitary phenomenon cross-linguistically codified (cfr. Horn 1989; Van Der Wouden 1994; Makri 2013). I will provide empirical arguments to show that in fact EN consists of distinct subtypes and propose a twofold partition between weak and strong EN. Moreover, I will highlight a previously unnoticed instance of Italian EN clauses I dubbed “Surprise Negative Sentences” (Snegs). Snegs are distinct from any other EN clauses because of their grammatical proprieties, which can be caught by a specific syntactic representation.
A TWOFOLD CLASSIFICATION OF EXPLETIVE NEGATION
Matteo Greco
2018-01-01
Abstract
Expletive negation (EN) is commonly considered to be a unitary phenomenon cross-linguistically codified (cfr. Horn 1989; Van Der Wouden 1994; Makri 2013). I will provide empirical arguments to show that in fact EN consists of distinct subtypes and propose a twofold partition between weak and strong EN. Moreover, I will highlight a previously unnoticed instance of Italian EN clauses I dubbed “Surprise Negative Sentences” (Snegs). Snegs are distinct from any other EN clauses because of their grammatical proprieties, which can be caught by a specific syntactic representation.File in questo prodotto:
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