3,435 research outputs found
On Clausal Architecture: Evidence from Complement Clitic Placement in Romance
No full textThe paper expands on previous work (Benincà 1983; Benincà 2006; Benincà and Tortora 2009; Tortora 2002; Tortora to appear), in which we argue that certain patterns of complement clitic placement in Romance varieties reveal that clausal architecture provides at least three different domains of placement for complement clitics, what we have termed the C-domain, the I-domain, and the V-domain. Specifically, we have shown that some languages (such as Borgomanerese, a Piedmontese dialect) utilize only one domain (in this case, the V-domain), no matter what the nature of the clause (interrogative, declarative, or imperative; matrix or embedded; finite or non-finite), while other languages utilize more than one domain, depending on clause type. For example, Italian arguably utilizes the I-domain in finite clauses, but the V-domain in participial clauses (see Benincà & Tortora 2009 and Tortora to appear for arguments for the latter). This paper adds to the empirical base supporting this view of the clause and of clitic syntax by examining a previously unnoticed restriction on complement clitic placement in Paduan (a Veneto dialect), which depends on clause type; it is our hope that the more wide-ranging the empirical findings, the better a position we will be in to understand the nature of the restrictions on complement clitic placement; this in turn, we hope, will contribute to our understanding of the nature of clausal architecture, as well as to our understanding of the nature of clitic pronouns themselves (independent of the question of their placement in the clause).
Specifically, we look at the behavior of the verb volerghe ‘to be necessary’, which is composed of the verb volere ‘to want’ and the clitic ghe. As we will see, the behavior of this clitic, when used with this verb in simple tense and participial clauses, is variable, suggesting an analysis whereby the participial clause has a lower clitic placement site than the simple tense clause
TORTORA observations of GRB 080319B
No full textWe present results of TORTORA wide-field camera optical observations of GRB 080319B, performed before, during and after the gamma event with high time resolution
Geografie della modernità. Atti del 17° convegno MOD, Perugia 13-16 giugno 2015, a c. di S. Sgavicchia e M. Tortora, ETS, Pisa 2017
No full textTowards a finer-grained theory of Italian participial clausal architecture
No full textMuch of the recent literature on clitic placement in the Romance languages is converging on the
idea that the clause contains three different domains for complement clitic placement. Benincà
(2006), for example, provides arguments based on Medieval Romance for a complement clitic
placement site in the C-domain (see also Benincà, 1983 and Uriagereka, 1995); Kayne (1989,
1991) gives arguments based on French and Italian for complement clitic placement in the Idomain
(see also Martins, 1994 for Portuguese); and, more recently, Cardinaletti and Shlonsky
(2004), Cardinaletti (2008), Ledgeway and Lombardi (2004), and Tortora (2000, 2002, to appear)
provide evidence for a relatively low clitic placement site, immediately outside the VP (the Vdomain).
The question of whether all three domains (C, I, and V) could be available for complement
clitics in a single language, or whether languages only make available one or the other domain,
is an empirical question which needs to be examined on a language by language basis. A
related theoretical question (but one which we do not address in this paper) is why some languages
utilize one domain and not the others.
The paper is organized as follows: in section 2.1, we present evidence from the behavior of
Impersonal si for low clitic placement in Italian participial clauses. In section 2.2, we support the
conclusion drawn in section 2.1 by examining the behavior of the clitic ci as it is used with the
Italian verb volerci ‘to be necessary.’ We show that the behavior and interpretation of this verb in
participial clauses (which is more restricted than that found in finite clauses) is best understood if
we take participial clauses to have no access to the higher inflectional field. Section 3 concludes
High-Speed and Wide-Field Photometry with TORTORA
No full textThe facilities of the instrument TORTORA having a time resolution of 1/7 of second and a field of view of 18x25 degrees are presente
Antisense strategies targeting protein kinase C: preclinical and clinical development
No full textAltered protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-alpha) expression has been implicated in tumor promotion and carcinogenesis. One potentially attractive therapeutic intervention may be the use of selective antisense oligonucleotides to inhibit production of PKC-alpha. In preclinical studies, the antisense oligonucleotide LY900003 (ISIS 3521;Affinitak; Isis Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, CA) has shown selective inhibition of PKC-alpha mRNA and protein expression and has shown antitumor activity. In clinical studies, LY900003 has shown activity as a single agent, but the most promising data have been obtained in combination with chemotherapy, particularly in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Data from phase I and II studies have led to ongoing randomized phase III trials in combination with either cisplatin and gemcitabine or carboplatin and paclitaxel. Studies in other tumor types will also investigate the benefit of combining LY900003 with conventional chemotherapy
High-Speed and Wide-Field Photometry with TORTORA
No full textWe present the photometric analysis of the extended sky fields observed by the TORTORA optical monitoring system. The technology involved in the TORTORA camera is based on the use of a fast TV-CCD matrix with an image intensifier. This approach can both significantly reduce the readout noise and shorten the focal length following to monitor relatively large sky regions with high temporal resolution and adequate detection limit. The performance of the system has been tested using the relative magnitudes of standard stars by means of long image sequences collected at different airmasses and at various intensities of the moon illumination. As expected from the previous laboratory measurements, artifact sources are negligible and do not affect the photometric results. The following analysis is based on a large sample of images acquired by the TORTORA instrument since July 2006
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