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Part of
Structuring Variation in Romance Linguistics and Beyond: In honour of Leonardo M. Savoia
Edited by Mirko Grimaldi, Rosangela Lai, Ludovico Franco and Benedetta Baldi
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 252] 2018
► pp. 149–160

Chapter 10
A note on left-peripheral maps and interface properties

| University of Genève & University of Siena

The cartographic analysis of the left periphery leads to the identification of invariant and variable properties in the syntactic expression of scope-discourse configurations, such as topic-comment and focus-presupposition. One notable property is that languages typically permit a unique focus in the left periphery of a clause, whereas left-peripheral topics may proliferate in many languages. A comparative analysis of Italian and Gungbe reveals that Italian disallows distinct LP foci also in distinct clauses of complex sentences, an option which is permitted in Gungbe. The proposal developed in this paper capitalizes on computational mechanisms applying at the interfaces with sound and meaning to capture the invariant core and the variability in these left-peripheral properties across languages.

Keywords: cartography, left periphery, focus, interfaces
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Syntactic and interface properties of criterial heads
  • 3.There can be multiple topics, but LP focus is unique: The role of LF interface principles
  • 4.Principles and parameters: A role for PF interface?
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 19 December 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.252.10riz
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