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Direct and indirect speech following the marker fan like

quickinfo

CV2 is the abbreviation that is used for the construction featuring a clause introduced by a Complementiser (C) followed by Verb-Second (V2). CV2s are not syntactically integrated in the superordinate clause in which they are found, so they are unintegrated (U). Correspondingly, we will henceforth refer to CV2s as UCV2s, while noting that ICV2s (Integrated CV2s) are not found in Frisian.

The marker fan like is homophonous with the possessive marker fan of. The marker fan like can be followed by direct speech as well as indirect speech. The marker can be followed by V2, CV2 and Verb-final clauses, but it cannot be followed by V1 clauses: they show mixed behaviour with respect to syntactic integration, a picture which is independent of the syntactic clause type following fan like. Fan-clauses are transparent for bound variable binding but opaque for wh-movement (long distance question formation). Furthermore, fan-clauses must occur at the right edge of the superordinate clause in which they are contained, like UCV2s. Fan-clauses are not found functioning as clause of effect to a clause of degree, nor as clause of cause: they must be selected by a matrix predicate.

The marker fan like can be followed by direct speech and by indirect speech. The two examples below involve direct speech in the form of an NCV2 which is functioning as direct object:

En doe't jim seinen fan wy gean nei it boekebal

en when you said like we go to the book.ball

And when you said like we are going to the ball of books

Dan tinksto fan ik moat al dy ferhalen trochnimme

then think.you like I must all those stories through.take

Then you think like I must go through all those stories

The marker can also be followed by indirect speech. The two examples below involve indirect speech in the form of an NCV2, which functions as the direct object:

En doe't jim seinen fan jim soene nei it boekebal

and when you said like you should to the book.ball

And when you said like you were going to the ball of books

Doe tochtsto fan do moatst al dy ferhalen trochnimme

then thought.you like you must all those stories through.take

Then you thought like you had to go through all those stories

It is possible to establish a relation of bound variable binding between a pronoun in an NCV2 clause and an antecedent outside it. The first example below illustrates this for indirect speech, the second one for direct speech:

Elkenien tocht fan hy soe wol efkes winne

everybody thought like he should DcP DcP win

Everybody thought like, he would win easily

Elkenien tocht fan ik sil wol efkes winne

everybody thought like I shall DcP DcP win

Everybody thought like, I shall win easily

It is not possible to extract out of a fan-clause. This is illustrated below for a V2 clause involving direct speech:

Hy tocht, (fan) ik ha in fyts wûn

he thought like I have a bike won

He thought (like), I have won a bike

*Wat tocht er (fan) ik ha - wûn?

what thought he like I have won

What did he think (like), I won?

The sentence above is also ungrammatical in case the marker fan like is dropped. The English translation is ungrammatical in the reading in which the embedded clause represents direct speech, more specifically, the reading in which the two subject pronouns refer to the same person.

The resistance to extraction by fan-clauses is illustrated below for an NCV2 clause involving indirect speech:

Hy tocht, (fan) hy hie in fyts wûn

he thought like he had a bike won

He thought, he had won a bike

*Wat tocht er (fan) hy hie - wûn?

what thought he like he had won

What did he think, he won?

The marker fan like can also be followed by a Verb-Final clause introduced by the complementiser dat that. Note that Verb-Final clauses necessarily involve indirect speech, whereas V2 clauses may involve either direct or indirect speech. So, in principle, any instance of direct speech following this marker can be turned into indirect speech having the form of a Verb-Final clause. A minimal pair is provided in (6), where the first example involves direct speech, the second one indirect speech:

En doe't jim seinen fan wy gean nei it boekebal

and when you said like we go to the book.ball

And when you said like we are going to the ball of books

En doe't jim seinen fan dat jim nei it boekebal gongen

and when you said like that you to the book.ball went

And when you said like you were going to the ball of books

The Verb-Final clauses following fan like allow of bound variable binding, as shown below, just as their V2 counterparts did:

Elkenien tocht fan dat er wol efkes winne soe

everybody thought like that he DcP DcP win should

Everybody thought like that he would win easily

The presence of fan like, however, blocks extraction. This is shown below for question formation:

*Wat tocht er fan dat er - wûn hie?

what thought he like he had won had

What did he think he won?

Wat tocht er dat er - wûn hie?

what thought he he had won had

What did he think he won?

The blocking effect of fan like is illustrated below for topicalisation:

*In gouden medalje tocht er fan dat er - wûn hie?

a gold medal thought he like he had won had

What did he think he won?

In gouden medalje tocht er dat er - wûn hie?

a gold medal thought he he had won had

What did he think he won?

The fan-clause may have various syntactic functions. It does not only occur as a direct object with the well-known bridge verbs. It is also found as the complement to the copula wêze be, as in the following example, where the fan-clause is predicated of the quantified subject:

No yn it begjin wie iderien fan dan moatte we no ek geef prate

well in the beginning was everyone like then must we now also pure talk

Well, at first everyone was like, now we should talk correct Frisian

The following example is similar, except that the transitive copula ha have is involved instead of the intransitive copula wêze be:

Dus hy hie echt sokssawat fan no moat ik dit no dwaan?

so he had really something like now must I this now do

So he was really like, well, do I have to do this?

In the following example, the fan-clause appears to function as a specifying adverbial clause:

Hy prate sa fan ik bemuoi my der net mear mei

he talked so like I concern me R not anymore with

He was talking like I do not have anything to do with it anymore

The fan-clause has a wide range of applications, often involving a specification of a manner of thinking or saying by means of an example.

extra

Literature

More details can be found in Hoekstra (2010).

References

Hoekstra, Eric2010'Van' als markeerder van zinnen in de directe en indirecte rede in het Fries en het NederlandsLeuvense Bijdragen96169-188

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About this article

Author(s): Eric Hoekstra

Category: Frisian Syntax

Keywords: direct speechindirect speechmarker

Version: 1.0, December 2015

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Eric Hoekstra	December 2015

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