Existential Constructions across Languages
Forms, meanings and functions
Editors
Laure Sarda | LATTICE – CNRS (UMR 8094) Ecole Normale Supérieure-PSL and Université Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle
Ludovica Lena | Xiamen University, China & CRLAO (INALCO/EHESS/CNRS), France
This volume reflects the centrality of the existential construction in current linguistic research and offers studies that both consolidate and challenge established research agendas. It addresses (i) a variety of constructions related to ‘prototypical’ existentials (including the have-possessive construction), and investigates (ii) the relationships between locative, existential, and information structure, (iii) the quantification of the pivot and (iv) the issue of negative existentials. It brings together different and complementary approaches (functional, cognitive, pragmatic, typological, comparative, diachronic, philosophical) based on a wide variety of data sources. The contributions illustrate how the so-called existential construction can take a variety of forms – more or less grammaticalized – and functions – ranging from the expression of literal existence to that of localization and discursive focus – in a wide range of languages. The book will be valuable for linguists, researchers or students, interested in the cross-linguistic manifestations of existential constructions at the interface between syntax, semantics and information structure.
Publishing status: Available
