Grammaticalization of syntactic conflict resolution: Asymmetric constructions

Abstract

We consider Russian coordinative constructions with paired conjunctions, such as i…i 'both…and', ili…ili 'either…or', ni…ni 'neither…nor', ne tol'ko…no i 'not only…but also', ne…a 'not…but', etc. The paper presents a class of syntactic constructions, so-called asymmetric constructions, which are interesting in several respects. They are closely related to coordinative constructions, although they do not share their principal property - the identity of syntactic functions of coordinated elements. They take up an intermediate position between standard syntax and ungrammaticality. On the one hand, the sentence is within the grammatical norm. On the other hand, its structure underwent a deformation that left a trace. We propose a description that accounts for their closeness to and difference from standard - symmetric - constructions. Symmetric constructions with paired conjunctions are convenient to describe as a result of two transformations occurring in the semantic structure: Deletion and Transfer. Asymmetric constructions are obtained when only one of these transformations is applied. Accordingly, two subclasses of asymmetric constructions can be distinguished - 'Deletion-Without-Transfer' constructions and 'Transfer-Without-Deletion' constructions. The latter class has a strong pragmatic marking. The core of this class are 'failed' symmetric constructions. The speaker begins to build a symmetric construction but faces an obstacle of syntactic nature, which prevents him from completing this plan. 'Transfer-Without-Deletion' constructions constitute a legalized way of overcoming syntactic conflicts.