Obnašanje čeških in slovenskih naslonk / The Behavior of Czech and Slovenian Clitics (N6-0314)

(see below for English)

V projektu se posvečamo primerjalni analizi naslonk v dveh slovanskih jezikih, češčini in slovenščini. S projektom želimo pridobiti nove eksperimentalne podatke o skladnji, morfologiji, fonologiji in prosodiji naslonk in omenjene podatke vnesti v znanstveno debato o naslonkah, z njimi dobiti boljši vpogled v jezikovno-specifične lastnosti čeških in sovenskih naslonk ter preko tega prispevati k splošnemu jezikoslovno-teoretičnemu razumevanju naslonk.

Na področju skladnje se projekt posveča vprašanju, ali je poseben položaj naslonk (drugo mesto znotraj stavka) povezan z drugimi skladenskimi procesi, za katere se ve, da so občutljivi na linearni vrstni red. Nadalje bo projekt preverjal ali so naslonke občutljive na omejitve skladenskih premikov (kot je naprimer omejitev vezniške zveze). Občutljivost na take pojave nam omogoča razumeti naravo naslonskih premikov, torej, ali naslonski premiki spoštujejo poznane omejitve skladenskih procesov oziroma, na katere omejitve so naslonke občutljive.

Na področju fonologije se projekt posveča glasovnim in prozodičnim procesom, ki vključujejo naslonke in sorodne nenaslonske elemente. Preko tega bomo skušali razumeti mejo med naslonkami in njihovimi gostitelji. Želimo ugotoviti, na katerih ravneh se naslonke obnašajo kot priponska obrazila in na katerih kot samostojne besede oziroma ali se morda ne obnašajo kot nič od naštetega temveč kot posebni jezikovni gradniki.

Na področju morfologije se bomo posvetili pojavu sinkretizma. Naslonke so namreč lahko sinkretične samostojnim besedam na eni strani in priponam na drugi (zaimek 'nas' je recimo enakozvočen v svoji naslonski in svoji nenaslonski različici). Projekt raziskuje takšne dvoumne naslonke in želi določiti skladenjske in glasoslovne lastnosti njihovim naslonskim in nenaslonskim rabam. Na ta način bomo lažje določili, katere lastnosti so specifične za naslonke kot slovnično kategorijo in katere za posamične naslonske zaimke.

Opisane raziskave se bodo vršile primerjalno v obeh jezikih, to je v češčini in slovenščini. Ker se bomo lastnosti naslonk lotili primerjalno, bomo lahko določili, katere lastnosti naslonk so jezikovno-specifične (v teh lastnostih pričakujemo razlike med obema jezikoma) in katere splošne in veljajo za naslonke kot slovnično kategorijo (glede teh lastnosti med jezikoma ne bi smelo biti razlik).

V projektu sodelujejo raziskovalci iz Masarykove univerze v Brnu in Univerze v Novi Gorici. Obe skupini jezikoslovcev sta podkovani v eksperimentalnih metodah in stremita k enakemu cilju, razumeti obnašanje naslonk in z njihovo pomočjo razumeti delitev dela med skladnjo, morfologijo in fonologijo. Skupini jezikoslovcev z obeh univerz se odlično dopolnjujeta. Poleg očitne specializacije posamične ekipe na jezik neposrednega okolja sta osrednji področji zanimanja jezikoslovcev iz Brna morfologija in fonologija, medtem ko je skupina iz Nove Gorice bolj skladenjsko orientirana. Sodelovanje obeh ekip tako prinaša dodano vrednost, saj omogoča naslavljanje vprašanja naslonk z različnih zornih kotov in lažje ločevanje jezikovno-specifičnih lastnosti od splošnih medjezikovnih generalizacij.

The project proposes a comparative investigation of clitics in Czech and Slovenian. We aim at gaining new experimental data regarding their syntax, morphology, phonology, and prosody. We use the data to provide new insights into the language-specific properties of clitics in Czech and Slovenian, while at the same time opening new perspectives on some long standing issues regarding the overall architecture of grammar.

In the domain of syntax, the project addresses the question of whether the special placement of clitics (2nd position) interacts with syntactic processes that are known to be sensitive to linear effects. Similarly, we investigate whether general constraints on filler-gap dependencies (such as the Coordinate Structure Constraint) apply to clitics. The presence/absence of such effects allows us to understand the nature of clitic placement, i.e., whether the positioning of clitics is determined in accordance with the rules and constraints that generally accompany syntactic processes, and if so, which ones.

In the domain of phonology, we investigate what kind of segmental and prosodic processes take place at the boundaries between clitics and non-clitics. This allows us to determine the nature of the boundary between clitics and their hosts: do clitics behave like words or affixes? Or are they unlike either of those?

In the domain of morphology, we focus on the issue of syncretism. Our starting point is the observation that clitics can be syncretic with (i.e., identical to) independent words on the one hand, and affixes on the other hand. (For instance, the pronoun nás 'us, accusative' has both clitic and non-clitic uses.) The project studies such 'ambiguous clitics' as a special category, and within that category, it compares clitic uses to non-clitic uses regarding their syntactic and phonological properties. This allows us to determine which of the facts are specific to clitics as a class, and which properties are item specific. In particular, general properties of clitics must also be attested for the clitic use af an ambiguous item, and, in the ideal case, they should be absent with the non-clitic use of the ambiguous item.

The investigation sketched above will be conducted in a comparative fashion in the two languages of interest, i.e., Czech and Slovenian. The benefit of the comparative approach is that it allows us to determine which of the properties of clitics are language specific (these will differ in between the languages), and which properties may be potentially characteristic of clitics as a grammatical class (these will not differ between the languages).

In order to carry out the research as envisaged, the project brings together a team of researchers from Masaryk University, Brno and the University of Nova Gorica. Both teams have experience with experimental research and pursue a common theoretical goal: to understand the nature of clitics and their implications for the division of labor between syntax, morphology and phonology. At the same time, the teams possess complementary strengths. In addition to the obvious fact that each of the teams specializes in a different language, the strength of the Brno team is mainly in morphology and phonology, while the Slovenian team has a clear focus on syntax. Combining the two teams thus brings an added value in that it allows us to address the phenomenon of clitics from a multitude of perspectives, and differentiate language-specific findings from more general properties through cross-linguistic research.

Projektna skupina / Project group:

Franc Marušič (vodja / PI) – Univerza v Novi Gorici (sicris) (2023-)
Petra Mišmaš – Univerza v Novi Gorici (sicris) (2023-)
Rok Žaucer – Univerza v Novi Gorici (sicris) (2023-)
Vesna Plesničar – Univerza v Novi Gorici, mlada raziskovalka (sicris) (2023)
Katarina Gomboc Čeh – Univerza v Novi Gorici, mlada raziskovalka (sicris) (2023)

Projektna skupina na Masarykovi univerzi v Brnu / Project group at Masaryk U. of Brno:

Petr Karlík (vodja / PI) (2023-)
Pavel Caha (2023-)
Markéta Ziková (2023-)
Michal Starke (2023-)

Trajanje, tip, obseg, financiranje projekta / Duration, type, size, funding:

Trajanje projekta / Project duration: 1.5.2023–30.4.2026
Tip projekta / Project type: temeljni projekt – manjši / standard basic research project; kategorija B / category B
Partnerska ustanova / Partner institution: Masarykova univerza v Brnu / Masaryk U. of Brno
Financer / Funding agency: Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije. For Masaryk U. of Brno: Czech Science Foundation.
Obseg / Size: 2463 efektivnih ur letno (UNG) / 2463 effective hours per year (UNG)
ARRS koda projekta / Project code: N6-0314

Projekt v bazi Sicris / Project in Sicris database: Povezava