11.2350, Qs: Socioling/Modern Romania, Quotative Inversion

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-11-2350. Mon Oct 30 2000. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 11.2350, Qs: Socioling/Modern Romania, Quotative Inversion

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1)
Date:  Mon, 30 Oct 2000 11:49:41 EST
From:  Oanagu at aol.com
Subject:  Language change in contemporary Romanians

2)
Date:  Mon, 30 Oct 2000 13:51:41 -0500
From:  Chris Collins <cc42 at cornell.edu>
Subject:  Quotative Inversion

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Mon, 30 Oct 2000 11:49:41 EST
From:  Oanagu at aol.com
Subject:  Language change in contemporary Romanians

Dear Linguists,

I am studying sociolinguistics aspects of Contemporary Romanian, as
the use of the language by the media, internet, and other "new"
technologies and techniques, the attitudes language change induces
among politics, media, linguists, writers and common people.

I have looked for similar topics before anything else, and I didn't find any
interesting information. Language change in contemporary Romanian (since
1989) is a very recent and difficult sociolinguistic subject, for me as for
all east european linguists facing change in their language after the fall of
"communist" societies, so I am not surprised not to find much  about it.


I'm afraid I cannot be more specific because my area of study is emerging
while I'm studying it, and I am genuinely interested about anything having to
do with language change related to social change, and especially to
contemporary change in post-communist east european countries.


Thank you for your collaboration,

Oana GULEI


-------------------------------- Message 2 -------------------------------

Date:  Mon, 30 Oct 2000 13:51:41 -0500
From:  Chris Collins <cc42 at cornell.edu>
Subject:  Quotative Inversion

Dear Editors,

This is a question for the Linguist List:


I am interested in whether languages other than English show the
transitivity constraint in quotative inversion.
This constraint is illustrated below:

	(1)	a.	"I am so happy," Mary said to John
		b.	"I am so happy," said Mary to John

	(2)	a.	"I am so happy," Mary told John
		b.	*"I am so happy," told Mary John

	(3)	a.	"What is the exchange rate?" Mary asked of John
		b.	"What is the exchange rate?" asked Mary of John

	(4)	a.	"What is the exchange rate?" Mary asked John
		b.	*"What is the exchange rate?" asked Mary John

	As the data in (2b) and (4b) show, a verb in a double object construction
cannot undergo quotative inversion.
I am interested in finding other languages that show a similar pattern. I
suspect that languages with a productive V/2
strategy will not have the transitivity constraint, since QI in those
languages should also trigger V/2. I will post a summary
of the responses that I receive.

Chris Collins
cc42 at cornell.edu

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