The dramatic extraction construction in French
The dramatic extraction construction in French

Summary/Abstract: Relying on spoken corpora (Corpaix, CRFP) and on previous studies (Sabio 1995, 2006), we identify a construction common in spoken French, which we analyze as a particular case of extraction: a. dix sept ans il a. (Seventeen years he has) [Corpaix] b. deux cigarettes j’ai fumé. (Two cigarettes I smoked) [on the fly] The construction can only be a root clause and a declarative clause. Its interpretation is that of a thetic proposition. On the other hand, it is not associated with a unique information structure, since it is compatible with a focus-ground partition, with the extracted constituent as a narrow focus, or with an all focus interpretation. We call this construction “dramatic extraction”, and the extracted element a “center” (i.e. a focus or a figure). We formalize our analysis within the HPSG framework.

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