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In:Sound, Syntax and Contact in the Languages of Asturias
Edited by Guillermo Lorenzo
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 36] 2022
► pp. 151–172

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Chapter 8
Negation in Asturian

Pragmatic differences at the syntax-phonology interface

 | University of Oviedo
Published online: 1 March 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.36.08san
Abstract
The discourse markers in modern Asturian non and nun are not just two variants of the same unit of negation, as has been traditionally thought. Rather, they are lexical items that codify different types of polarity and express different types of negation. The present analysis will show that non is a peripheral independent C-unit that expresses relative polarity and is used to refute a previous utterance (metalinguistic negation). Nun, on the other hand, is an ambiguous negative marker: not only does it codifies negative polarity in ΣP and legitimises negative polarity items (sentential negation); it is also linked to ascending intonation, can activate the <objection> value of relative polarity in C, and refutes a previous statement.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The pragmatic notion of metalinguistic negation
  • 3.Negation in Asturian: A general overview
    • 3.1Previous discourse legitimisation
    • 3.2Intolerance to morphological manifestation
    • 3.3Inability to legitimise items with negative polarity
    • 3.4Compatibility with positive polarity items
    • 3.5Impact on the position of clitics
  • 4.Nun, ΣP and the syntax of polarity in Asturian
    • 4.1ΣP and sentence structure in Asturian
    • 4.2Polarity constraints on clitic position
  • 5.The syntax of metalinguistic negation
    • 5.1Non: A metalinguistic negation marker
    • 5.2The interplay between Σ and C
  • 6.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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