The encoding of Unaccusativity in Old Champenois

Abstract

Unlike previous studies, the present contribution fits into a space that has not yet been explored by research, namely the study of unaccusativity in the different domainsof the early phase of the Langue d’Oil. So this study investigates the encoding of unaccusativity in Old Champenois (a variety of the Langue d’Oil domain).

In the first section we discuss the paths of development of the reflexes of Latin esseand habere as perfective auxiliares with one-argument verbs in Old Champenois. The analysis reveals the first signs of the process leading to the use of avoir as theonly perfective auxiliary in contemporary Champenois, with avoir gradually invading the functional domains of .tre. The distribution of auxiliary selection in Old Champenois is sensitive to the Auxiliary Selection Hierarchy, a syntacticosemantic gradient model of split intransitivity. In the second section we discuss a potential correlation between unaccusative verbs and post-verbal subjects. Following the Auxiliary Selection Hierarchy, the data were also classified into semantic classes. The results reveal a connection between the post-verbal position of subjects in unaccusative constructions and the semantic classes of predicates. This indicates a correlation between the Verb-Subject pattern and the distribution of auxiliary verbs, as well as the hierarchical structure of predicate classes.