14.3365, Sum: English Topicalization

[LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List:  Vol-14-3365. Sat Dec 6 2003. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 14.3365, Sum: English Topicalization

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1)
Date:          Fri, 5 Dec 2003 00:43:48 -0500
From:          Peter Jenks <pspiros at DARTMOUTH.EDU>
Subject:       Re: 14.3256, Qs: English Topicalization; Tagalog Particle

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

Date:          Fri, 5 Dec 2003 00:43:48 -0500
From:          Peter Jenks <pspiros at DARTMOUTH.EDU>
Subject:       Re: 14.3256, Qs: English Topicalization; Tagalog Particle

I received only one substantive reply to my query (Linguist 14.3256).
- -----
Peter,

Let me make a few observations, some of which I point out in my grammar.

1.  I call the three quantifiers, half, both, and all, pre-posed
quantifiers.  This is based on their distribution before the remaining part
of the determiner.  Hence we have,

(1) Half the people is/are in favor.  We agree with half the people.
(2) Both the people are in favor.  We agree with both the people.
(3) All the people are in favor.  We agree with all the people.

2.  For this reason I take it that the pre-posed quantifiers are nominalized
before a partitive phrase (of . . . ).

(1a) Half of the people is/are in favor.
(2a) Both of the people are in favor.
(3a) All of the people are in favor.

3.  It is a small step to analyze the phrase with or without the partitive
as an adverbial noun phrase.  Thus we have it appearing in at least one of
the the normal positions of an adverbial adjunct.  It doesn't seem to be
extraposed in the sentence.

(1b) The people are half in favor.
(2b) The people are both in favor.
(3b) The people are all in favor.

Yet, as you pointed out, the (a) versions will extrapose to the end.  These
phrases, especially the extraposed versions, seem to be filling a role of
clarification (1,2) or emphasis (3).

(1c) The people are half of them in favor.  The people are in favor, half of
them.
(2c) The people are both of them in favor.  The people are in favor, both of
them.
(3c) The people are all of them in favor.  The people are in favor, all of them.

The grammar is on my website at www.burgoyne.com/pages/bdespain/
It is what I call a paraphrastic grammar, because the analysis of clauses,
at least, is based on a set of principles of paraphrase.

Bruce D. Despain

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