[Lingtyp] query: 1st syllable deletion

Jocelyn Aznar contact at jocelynaznar.eu
Tue Nov 1 08:59:46 UTC 2022


Hi David,

just some questions for clarifying the query, but do you think this is 
valid only when:
- the 1st syllabe is a whole word?
- when all the other information removed can be inferred from the situation?

Also, would you qualify those are elipsis? or do you have another 
interpretation in mind?

Best,
Jocelyn

Le 28/10/2022 à 14:11, David Gil a écrit :
> Dear all,
> 
> English seems to have a rule which, under particular conditions, allows 
> for the first syllable of an utterance to be deleted.The first example 
> below is from a movie that I saw last night, the next two are made up:
> 
> (1) (What) The fuck happened to you?
> 
> (2) (Are) You going home yet?
> 
> (3) (I) Think it's gonna rain
> 
> And there's also the formulaic "Wish you were here".
> 
> My questions:
> 
> 1. Has anybody written about this? Seems like it could be interestingfor 
> a number of reasons.
> 
> 2. Are there similar phenomena in other languages? (Haven't seen 
> anything like it in the other languages I happen to be familiar with.)
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> David
> 
> -- 
> David Gil
> 
> Senior Scientist (Associate)
> Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution
> Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
> Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
> 
> Email:gil at shh.mpg.de
> Mobile Phone (Israel): +972-526117713
> Mobile Phone (Indonesia): +62-082113720302
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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