CauRPe: How autonomous is syntax? A case study of Romance causation and perception
How are language and meaning related? Does complex meaning exist independently or is it created by language? If the latter, do different languages convey subtly different meanings, with some meanings impossible to convey? We address these questions through causative (‘make’/‘let’) and perception (‘see’/‘hear’) verbs in Romance, which are ideal for probing the syntax–semantics interface since they combine with a wide range of clausal complements (finite clauses, clause union, ECM, gerunds, pseudo-relatives, inflected infinitives, etc.), yielding subtle meaning differences. This allows us to track grammar’s contribution to meaning, with Romance an ideal testing ground.
Our comparative project includes standardised written languages (Catalan, French, Italian, Occitan, Brazilian and European Portuguese, Romanian, Peninsular and Latin American Spanish) as well as scarcely documented and endangered varieties like Occitan (Gallo-Romance) and Southern Calabrese (Extreme Southern Italo-Romance). Studying these spoken varieties also documents structure availability and informs language contact research. To ensure comparability across online surveys and fieldwork, we use video stimuli, giving all participants the same input regardless of whether their variety has a written tradition.
The project thus applies advanced empirical methods to a fundamental question in the philosophy of language: how (if at all) grammar shapes meaning in this domain and beyond. Whatever the outcome, it will advance our understanding of the syntax–semantics relationship.