Dissertation by Richard Faure
Embedded Interrogatives in Classical Greek Prose: Constituent Questions
This thesis investigates... more Embedded Interrogatives in Classical Greek Prose: Constituent Questions
This thesis investigates embedded constituent interrogatives at the syntax/semantic interface. Three areas are
analysed: interrogative terms; embedding predicates; moods and tenses. The interrogative terms belong to three
paradigms: ὅς (relative), τίς (direct interrogative) and ὅστις (so-called indefinite relative). Τίς/ὅστις pattern together
distributionally, while ὅς shows a different pattern. The distinctive semantic criterion is their ability (ὅς) or inability
(τίς/ὅστις) to identify an antecedent for interpretation of the variable. Τίς/ὅστις clauses are licensed in environments
where this process is blocked, that is under non veridical (NPIs licensing) operators and in focus position, whereas ὅς
clauses are presupposed and have scope over such operators. The key notion we propose is identification. It carries over
to exclamatives. As for the embedding predicates, we propose two semantic features, open/closeness of the answer and
rogative/resolutiveness, whose ± setting yields four classes. The analysis of the moods and tenses focuses on the
deliberative subjunctive and its alternatives and on the oblique optative, which, we propose, is a narrative tense.
Put together, these three studies display coherent results: only resolutive predicates embed ὅς-clauses; rogative
verbs behave differently w.r.t. the sequence-of-time phenomenon; oblique optatives do not show up in ὅς-clauses etc.
More generally, the Greek data help enhance parts of the linguistic theory. With some modifications, the cartographic
approach provides good explanations for the Greek completive system. Our results also have important consequences on
the syntax and the semantics of relatives.
Keywords : Classical Greek ; syntax ; semantics ; completives ; interrogatives ; indirect questions ; embedded
interrogatives ; constituent questions ; polar/yes-no interrogatives ; questions ; interrogation ; relatives ; exclamation ;
exclamatives ; factivity ; veridicality ; prolepsis ; abstract objects ; propositional attitudes ; oblique optative
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Books by Richard Faure
Peeters, 2021
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Papers by Richard Faure
Studia Linguistica, 2022
This article explores the problem of information structure in ancient Greek direct constituent qu... more This article explores the problem of information structure in ancient Greek direct constituent questions from the perspective of wh-placement. It begins with the observation that wh-items are intrinsically focused and that typologically, wh-placement is predictable based on the focusing properties in some languages, such as Indonesian (in situ strategy) and Basque or Hungarian (focus position strategy), but not in others, such as English (specific wh-position strategy). Ancient Greek has multiple ways to express narrow focusing, e.g., in situ or in a preverbal devoted position. Puzzlingly, with respect to whPs, the former way is only marginally attested and there is no good evidence for the latter way. Instead, based on syntactic and prosodic tests, we show that ancient Greek offers a third strategy, in which a high position in the structure is available. Nevertheless, when this result is recast in the framework of Phase Theory, the tests of wh-duplication and stranding indicate that whPs must go through all three positions, receiving their argument function in situ, checking their focus feature preverbally and verifying their wh-feature in the high position. The specificity of 'why' questions is addressed along the way.
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Linguistische Berichte, 2023
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In this paper, we argue against the claim that exclamatives could be reducible to interrogatives ... more In this paper, we argue against the claim that exclamatives could be reducible to interrogatives in Classical Greek as sometimes argued for English. Exclamatives are original in that they denote presupposed propositions, are headed by specific (wh-morpheme h-) and focused wh-items. They necessarily involve degrees. We try to make sense of all these features by showing that the exclamative speech act resides in the meeting of knowledge (presupposition, specificity) and unexpectedness (focus, extended scales) at the semantic/pragmatic/syntax interface.
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Revue de philologie, de littérature et d'histoire anciennes, 2015
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Glotta, 2015
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Corpus, 2013
Occitan Topicalisation Strategies
Though Romance languages are rather uniform in that they displ... more Occitan Topicalisation Strategies
Though Romance languages are rather uniform in that they display two types of left-sided topicalizations: Hanging Topic (HT, main clauses) and Left Dislocation (LD, main and embedded clauses), some Occitan (along with some Italian) dialects depart from this pattern and allow for HT to be embedded. We point out the drawbacks of the theories where such topics are taken to be licensed by a specific predicative role (Sauzet 1989) or not to be embedded (Lahne 2005), and show that Occitan leftmost functional head (Rizzi’s 1997 FORCE°) is endowed with a strong feature attracting topical DP (possibly a declarative feature). The strength of this feature is parameterized and makes interesting typological predictions.
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Verbum Nancy, Dec 1, 2008
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Chapter by Richard Faure
Conceptions of Time in Greek and Roman Antiquity. de Gruyter, 2022
This volume¹ compiles essays that focus on conceptions of time in Greek and Roman Antiquity. By c... more This volume¹ compiles essays that focus on conceptions of time in Greek and Roman Antiquity. By conceptions, we mean ways in which time was conceived, not how time was measured or materiallyr epresented.² Thus, no chapter here is centred on astronomy, clepsydras,o rw atches.L ikewise, none of the essays in this volume directlya ddresses how humans perceivedt ime, e. g., when bored or excited etc., personallyo rs ubjectively, àl aBergson (1907, 1934). Instead, time is considered here as as peculative or literaryo rp olitical object,a sc an be inferred and theorised from the examination of ancienttexts that are not necessarilye xplicit as to how they conceive of time. This is thereforeastudyo fi ndividual and collective representations. In these respects,this volume is heir to Darbo-Peschanski (2000a), which it supplementsand updates in the domains of philosophy, history,l iterature, medicine and grammar.³ However,i td iffers by featurings tudies on the Roman world alongsidet hose on the Greek. Moreover, being shorter(8v s. 22 chapters), it privileges one approach, namelyt he way in which the various views of time are put into practice or "realised" (i. e., 'made real'), e. g., by becomingl iterary, political,o rm edicalm aterial capable This book originates in ande xpands upon theU CA JEDI projectM IDISHUC "Micro-diachronyi n HumanS ciencesa nd Conceptionso fT ime" (https://bcl.cnrs.fr/rubrique442), whosep urpose was to understandhow conceptionsoftimecan ariseorchangeunder thepressureofexternal factors, taking theexample of ClassicalGreece. Twoh ypotheseswereenvisaged within this project. First, that conceptions of time in differentfields, e.g.,inhistoryand philosophy respectively,may affect each other. Second,linguistic categories mayunconsciously affectthought categories, and/or vice versa. We return to this last idea in Section3. Regarding the measurement of time, it is important to read Hannah 2009.Onmeasurement in general in Antiquity,s ee Lloyd1 987. See also several of the chapters in Ben-Dov and Doering 2017,a long with chapters on how time was experienced. That book has morem aterial on the Middle-Eastern than on the Greek and Roman world. Visual arts areb arely touched upon here (although see S. Papaioannou'sc hapter, fromaliterary viewpoint), but were treated fromt he perspective of time in Strawczynski 2000 and Kim 2017.Because the bibliography on time is immense, this introductionf avours references from approximatelyt he last twenty years. The readerisreferredtothat volumeand especiallytoits introduction, in which the problems of time and "temporalisation" aree legantlyc ast in philosophical terms, most of which also applyt ot he present volume. Important references arem ade theret op revious literature.
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Dissertation by Richard Faure
This thesis investigates embedded constituent interrogatives at the syntax/semantic interface. Three areas are
analysed: interrogative terms; embedding predicates; moods and tenses. The interrogative terms belong to three
paradigms: ὅς (relative), τίς (direct interrogative) and ὅστις (so-called indefinite relative). Τίς/ὅστις pattern together
distributionally, while ὅς shows a different pattern. The distinctive semantic criterion is their ability (ὅς) or inability
(τίς/ὅστις) to identify an antecedent for interpretation of the variable. Τίς/ὅστις clauses are licensed in environments
where this process is blocked, that is under non veridical (NPIs licensing) operators and in focus position, whereas ὅς
clauses are presupposed and have scope over such operators. The key notion we propose is identification. It carries over
to exclamatives. As for the embedding predicates, we propose two semantic features, open/closeness of the answer and
rogative/resolutiveness, whose ± setting yields four classes. The analysis of the moods and tenses focuses on the
deliberative subjunctive and its alternatives and on the oblique optative, which, we propose, is a narrative tense.
Put together, these three studies display coherent results: only resolutive predicates embed ὅς-clauses; rogative
verbs behave differently w.r.t. the sequence-of-time phenomenon; oblique optatives do not show up in ὅς-clauses etc.
More generally, the Greek data help enhance parts of the linguistic theory. With some modifications, the cartographic
approach provides good explanations for the Greek completive system. Our results also have important consequences on
the syntax and the semantics of relatives.
Keywords : Classical Greek ; syntax ; semantics ; completives ; interrogatives ; indirect questions ; embedded
interrogatives ; constituent questions ; polar/yes-no interrogatives ; questions ; interrogation ; relatives ; exclamation ;
exclamatives ; factivity ; veridicality ; prolepsis ; abstract objects ; propositional attitudes ; oblique optative
Books by Richard Faure
Papers by Richard Faure
Though Romance languages are rather uniform in that they display two types of left-sided topicalizations: Hanging Topic (HT, main clauses) and Left Dislocation (LD, main and embedded clauses), some Occitan (along with some Italian) dialects depart from this pattern and allow for HT to be embedded. We point out the drawbacks of the theories where such topics are taken to be licensed by a specific predicative role (Sauzet 1989) or not to be embedded (Lahne 2005), and show that Occitan leftmost functional head (Rizzi’s 1997 FORCE°) is endowed with a strong feature attracting topical DP (possibly a declarative feature). The strength of this feature is parameterized and makes interesting typological predictions.
Chapter by Richard Faure
This thesis investigates embedded constituent interrogatives at the syntax/semantic interface. Three areas are
analysed: interrogative terms; embedding predicates; moods and tenses. The interrogative terms belong to three
paradigms: ὅς (relative), τίς (direct interrogative) and ὅστις (so-called indefinite relative). Τίς/ὅστις pattern together
distributionally, while ὅς shows a different pattern. The distinctive semantic criterion is their ability (ὅς) or inability
(τίς/ὅστις) to identify an antecedent for interpretation of the variable. Τίς/ὅστις clauses are licensed in environments
where this process is blocked, that is under non veridical (NPIs licensing) operators and in focus position, whereas ὅς
clauses are presupposed and have scope over such operators. The key notion we propose is identification. It carries over
to exclamatives. As for the embedding predicates, we propose two semantic features, open/closeness of the answer and
rogative/resolutiveness, whose ± setting yields four classes. The analysis of the moods and tenses focuses on the
deliberative subjunctive and its alternatives and on the oblique optative, which, we propose, is a narrative tense.
Put together, these three studies display coherent results: only resolutive predicates embed ὅς-clauses; rogative
verbs behave differently w.r.t. the sequence-of-time phenomenon; oblique optatives do not show up in ὅς-clauses etc.
More generally, the Greek data help enhance parts of the linguistic theory. With some modifications, the cartographic
approach provides good explanations for the Greek completive system. Our results also have important consequences on
the syntax and the semantics of relatives.
Keywords : Classical Greek ; syntax ; semantics ; completives ; interrogatives ; indirect questions ; embedded
interrogatives ; constituent questions ; polar/yes-no interrogatives ; questions ; interrogation ; relatives ; exclamation ;
exclamatives ; factivity ; veridicality ; prolepsis ; abstract objects ; propositional attitudes ; oblique optative
Though Romance languages are rather uniform in that they display two types of left-sided topicalizations: Hanging Topic (HT, main clauses) and Left Dislocation (LD, main and embedded clauses), some Occitan (along with some Italian) dialects depart from this pattern and allow for HT to be embedded. We point out the drawbacks of the theories where such topics are taken to be licensed by a specific predicative role (Sauzet 1989) or not to be embedded (Lahne 2005), and show that Occitan leftmost functional head (Rizzi’s 1997 FORCE°) is endowed with a strong feature attracting topical DP (possibly a declarative feature). The strength of this feature is parameterized and makes interesting typological predictions.
This paper addresses the issue of why there are, at first glance, three items that can introduce an embedded question in Classical Greek: hós (relative), tís ((direct) interrogative) and hóstis (so-called indefinite relative). As tís and hóstis pattern together with respect to the predicates that embed them, the distinction is amenable to a binary one. Giannakidou’s (1998) notion of non-veridicality accounts for it: tís and hóstis prove to be licensed by non veridical contexts. Hós clauses are nothing else than actual Free Relative clauses, that function as concealed questions, or, more exactly, as concealed propositions.