Left-Dislocation in Latin: Topics and Syntax in Republican Texts

By Hilla Halla-Aho

Now available in Open Access thanks to the support of the University of Helsinki. In the construction known as left-dislocation, an element appears in a fronted position, before the clause to which it belongs, usually introducing the topic of the sentence. Based on a detailed analysis of syntax, information structure and pragmatic organization, this study explores how left-dislocation is used in republican Latin comedy, prose and inscriptions as a device to introduce topics or other pragmatically prominent elements. Taking into consideration especially relative clause syntax and constraints of each text type, Hilla Halla-aho shows that, in the context of early Latin syntax and the evolving standards of the written language, left-dislocation performs similar functions in dramatic dialogue, legal inscriptions and archaic prose.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9004302476
• ISBN13: 9789004302471
• Release Date: September 2018
• Publisher: Brill
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"