PERSPECTIVE AND SYNTACTIC REALIZATION - FRENCH SENTENTIAL COMPLEMENTS

This paper provides a cognitive grammar (Langacker 1987, 1991) investi gation of several French complement constructions, and more specifical ly of the distribution of infinitival/finite complements in these cons tructions. It argues that the syntactic realization of the complement is explained by the perspective imposed on the complement scene, persp ective referring to the vantage point from which the scene is conceptu alized and the viewing arrangement existing between the conceptualizer and the entity conceptualized. Recognizing perspective enables us to (i) distinguish medals from sentential complement constructions (SCCs) , and (ii) explain the distribution between infinitival and finite com plements in SCCs. With respect to (i), the subject of medals has no co nceptualizing role with respect to the complement scene, while the sub ject of SCC verbs acts as the conceptualizer of the complement scene. With respect to (ii), finite complements instantiate the optimal viewi ng arrangement (Langacker 1985), where the complement scene is viewed objectively from the vantage point of the main subject. Infinitival co mplements illustrate the egocentric viewing arrangement (Langacker 198 5), where the complement clause is viewed more subjectively. The distr ibution of these complements with the main verbs involves the semantic s of the verbs, as well as pragmatic properties of the speech situatio n.