Functional approaches to Spanish syntax

About this book

The first usage-based approach of its kind, this volume contains twelve studies on key issues in Spanish syntax from a broad functionalist perspective. The topics covered include word order, null subjects and subject tracking, gustar-type verbs, ergative patterns in Spanish, null objects, inalienable possession, ser and estar, adjective placement, non-anaphoric se, small clauses, and causatives. While many of the studies are cast within the framework of Hopper and Thompson's Transitivity Hypothesis, they all strengthen the view that components of grammar intricately interact and that usage-based analyses offer new and insightful perspectives on old problems. The book will be of relevance to scholars and students interested in the interaction of lexical semantics, discourse, and syntax, particularly with a Spanish and Romance focus. It will also appeal to those concerned with variationist methodology and data base-approaches to syntactic analysis.