Existential Constructions in Typological Perspective

1 2 3

18-19 November 2016
École normale supérieure, Paris

 Organization

• Anne Carlier (Université de Lille 3, STL)
• Laure Sarda (CNRS-ENS, Lattice)

Possible research questions that could be explored with respect to different languages :

• Is there one grammaticalized existential construction or are there several competing (semi)grammaticalized existential constructions ? In the latter case, how do these constructions differ with respect to their conditions of use ?

• What structural properties do existential constructions have in different languages ? There seem to be two major models : existential-locative predications containing the verb ‘be’ and existential-possessive predications containing the verb ‘have’, where the possessor is reanalysed as a location. However, could other semantic fields, such as perception, play a role in existential predication as well ?

• How does the grammaticalized existential construction interact with information structure ?

• Is there a correlation between the typological properties of a language and the structural and pragmatic properties of its grammaticalized existential construction ?

• Are there structural or semantic differences between positive and negative existential constructions ?

• Free admission subject to availability

  ENS, 45 rue d’Ulm, 75005 Friday 18 November : salle des Actes  Saturday 19 November : salle Dussane

1 2 3