P08 – Fading Reference – The Pragmaticalization of Pronoun + Verb
Project description
This project investigates pronoun–verb combinations (prVCs), primarily in spoken Catalan, Italian, and Spanish. It examines their development from content-rich predicates through partially fixed parenthetical constructions to grammaticalized discourse markers. Particular attention is paid to combinations involving verbs of cognition, communication, and perception, and to how their discourse functions depend on pronoun features, verb type and form, additional functional elements, and syntactic position.
The project analyzes how grammatical operations treat pronominal features across morphosyntax, morphophonology, and the syntax–discourse interface. Redundancy (R) may suppress or disregard referential features, while deficiency (D) may reinterpret or enrich them with context-dependent pragmatic features. By tracing these processes, the project models how flexibility at the PF and LF interfaces enables grammatical and pragmatic change and how linguistic, extralinguistic, and frequency-related factors shape the grammatical system. It contributes to the SFB’s questions on grammaticalization and pragmaticalization (Q1), their consequences at the left periphery (Q2), and pronoun feature specifications in prVCs (Q3).
Team
Eva-Maria Remberger
Principal Investigator
University of Vienna
Eva Maria Remberger studied at the universities of Cologne, Bonn, and Berlin, where she completed her doctorate. Her research focuses on Romance linguistics, grammatical theory, modality, evidentiality, discourse markers, language contact, and the synchronic and diachronic development of Romance languages. Read more
Andrea Miglietta
PhD Student
University of Vienna
Andrea Miglietta holds a BA in Humanities and an MA in Linguistics from the University of Bologna. His research focuses on Italian pronoun–verb interactions, deverbal discourse markers, epistemic modality, grammaticalization, and parenthetical verbs. Read more
Ignasi Planas Villalba
PhD Student
University of Vienna
Ignasi holds a master’s degree in General Linguistics from the University of Vienna. His research interests include Catalan pronoun–verb sequences, pragmaticalization, discourse markers, and comparative Romance morphosyntax. Read more
Cluster membership
Output
Publications
2026
Miglietta, A., & Remberger, E.-M. (2026). The Pathway from Taste to Epistemic Flavors: Modal Semantics of Italian mi sa. Languages, 11(3), 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages11030054
author={Miglietta, A. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={The Pathway from Taste to Epistemic Flavors: Modal Semantics of Italian mi sa},
year={2026},
month={Mar},
volume={11},
ISSN={2226-471X},
DOI={10.3390/languages11030054},
number={3},
journal={Languages},
pages={54} }
Remberger, E.-M., & Herbeck, P. (2026). The difference between SAYING and MAKING: fer/fare as a quotative verb in Catalan and Italian. In P. Hofmann & N. Raue (Eds.), Quotation unbound — Bridging the divide across quotation types (pp. 152–181).
author={Remberger, E.-M. and Herbeck, P.},
title={The difference between SAYING and MAKING: fer/fare as a quotative verb in Catalan and Italian},
year={2026},
series={Special Number of SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics},
booktitle={Quotation unbound — Bridging the divide across quotation types},
editor={Hofmann, P. and Raue, N.},
pages={152–181},
collection={Special Number of SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics} }
2025
Herbeck, P., & Posio, P. (2025). Jo dic, digo yo: estudio comparativo de construcciones con el verbo “decir” en español y “dir” en catalán hablados. Borealis – An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, 14(2), 211–238. https://doi.org/10.7557/1.14.2.8250
author={Herbeck, P. and Posio, P.},
title={Jo dic, digo yo: estudio comparativo de construcciones con el verbo “decir” en español y “dir” en catalán hablados},
year={2025},
month={Dec},
volume={14},
ISSN={1893-3211},
DOI={10.7557/1.14.2.8250},
number={2},
journal={Borealis – An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics},
pages={211–238} }
Herbeck, P., Miglietta, A., & Remberger, E.-M. (2025). Speaker subject expression with verbs of cognition – think/believe in Italian and Spanish. Borealis – An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, 14(2), 267–304. https://doi.org/10.7557/1.14.2.8284
author={Herbeck, P. and Miglietta, A. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={Speaker subject expression with verbs of cognition – think/believe in Italian and Spanish},
year={2025},
month={Dec},
volume={14},
ISSN={1893-3211},
DOI={10.7557/1.14.2.8284},
number={2},
journal={Borealis – An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics},
pages={267–304} }
Talks
2026
Planas-Villalba, I., & Remberger, E.-M. (2026). El marcador de discurso deverbal „I think“ en castellano, italiano y catalán: Una visión comparativa. LIV Simposio de la Sociedad Española de Lingüística, CSIC, Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Madrid.
author={Planas-Villalba, I. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={El marcador de discurso deverbal „I think“ en castellano, italiano y catalán: Una visión comparativa},
year={2026},
eventtitle={LIV Simposio de la Sociedad Española de Lingüística},
venue={CSIC, Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Madrid} }
Planas-Villalba, I., & Remberger, E.-M. (2026). El marcador discursiu deverbal „I think“ en català, italià i castellà: una visió comparativa. ROLLING Seminars, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona.
author={Planas-Villalba, I. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={El marcador discursiu deverbal „I think“ en català, italià i castellà: una visió comparativa},
year={2026},
eventtitle={ROLLING Seminars},
venue={Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona} }
Planas-Villalba, I., & Remberger, E.-M. (2026). The deverbal discourse marker ‘I think’ in Catalan, Italian and Spanish: a comparative overview. GLiF Seminars, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.
author={Planas-Villalba, I. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={The deverbal discourse marker ‘I think’ in Catalan, Italian and Spanish: a comparative overview},
year={2026},
eventtitle={GLiF Seminars},
venue={Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona} }
Planas-Villalba, I., & Remberger, E.-M. (2026). The pragmaticalization of the sequence pronoun + verb. VII Jornades de Lingüística Catalana a Viena, University of Vienna.
author={Planas-Villalba, I. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={The pragmaticalization of the sequence pronoun + verb},
year={2026},
eventtitle={VII Jornades de Lingüística Catalana a Viena},
venue={University of Vienna} }
Remberger, E.-M. (2026). Italian mi sa - an answer to a question under discussion [Invited talk]. Seminari di linguistica, University of Padova.
author={Remberger, E.-M.},
title={Italian mi sa - an answer to a question under discussion},
year={2026},
eventtitle={Seminari di linguistica},
venue={University of Padova} }
2025
Herbeck, P. (2025). On mismatches between strong and emphatic pronouns. Pronoun + mismo (’same/self’) in Spanish. RED 25, “Mismatches in Anaphoric Relations,” University of Graz.
author={Herbeck, P.},
title={On mismatches between strong and emphatic pronouns. Pronoun + mismo (’same/self’) in Spanish},
year={2025},
eventtitle={RED 25, “Mismatches in Anaphoric Relations”},
venue={University of Graz} }
Herbeck, P., & Pomino, N. (2025). Dative experiencers in infinitives – How subject-like are they? In Workshop El dativo: Un caso híbrido?. XXIV. Deutscher Hispaniktag, University of Hamburg.
author={Herbeck, P. and Pomino, N.},
title={Dative experiencers in infinitives – How subject-like are they?},
year={2025},
eventtitle={XXIV. Deutscher Hispaniktag},
venue={University of Hamburg},
journal={Workshop El dativo: Un caso híbrido?} }
Herbeck, P., Miglietta, A., & Remberger, E.-M. (2025). The difference between SAYING and MAKING: fer/fare as a quotative marker in spoken Catalan and Italian. In Workshop “Quotation Unbound – Bridging the Divide Across Quotation Types”. DGfS 47, University of Mainz.
author={Herbeck, P. and Miglietta, A. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={The difference between SAYING and MAKING: fer/fare as a quotative marker in spoken Catalan and Italian},
year={2025},
eventtitle={DGfS 47},
venue={University of Mainz},
journal={Workshop “Quotation Unbound – Bridging the Divide Across Quotation Types”} }
Miglietta, A., & Remberger, E.-M. (2025). Italian mi sa (che): Still a question of taste?. CIDSM 19, University of Chieti-Pescara.
author={Miglietta, A. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={Italian mi sa (che): Still a question of taste?},
year={2025},
eventtitle={CIDSM 19},
venue={University of Chieti-Pescara} }
Miglietta, A., & Remberger, E.-M. (2025). From taste perception to flavors of epistemicity: Italian mi sa. In Workshop “The Syntax and Semantics of Perception”. SLE 58, University of Bordeaux.
author={Miglietta, A. and Remberger, E.-M.},
title={From taste perception to flavors of epistemicity: Italian mi sa},
year={2025},
eventtitle={SLE 58},
venue={University of Bordeaux},
journal={Workshop “The Syntax and Semantics of Perception”} }
Remberger, E.-M. (2025). From verbal form to discourse marker. A Distributes Morphology Approach. DM meets Nano, University of Vienna.
author={Remberger, E.-M.},
title={From verbal form to discourse marker. A Distributes Morphology Approach},
year={2025},
eventtitle={DM meets Nano},
venue={University of Vienna} }
Remberger, E.-M. (2025). The role of the 1SG dative clitic in epistemic expressions derived from verbs in Italian. In Workshop “Current Issues in Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics”. ÖLT 49, University of Klagenfurt.
author={Remberger, E.-M.},
title={The role of the 1SG dative clitic in epistemic expressions derived from verbs in Italian},
year={2025},
eventtitle={ÖLT 49},
venue={University of Klagenfurt},
journal={Workshop “Current Issues in Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics”} }
2024
Herbeck, P. (2024). (yo) creo (que) in spoken Spanish: Discourse marker, subject+verb or something in between?. Les marqueurs discursifs (dé)verbaux : approche comparée français/anglais/espagnol, Université de Picardie Jules Vernes, Amiens.
author={Herbeck, P.},
title={(yo) creo (que) in spoken Spanish: Discourse marker, subject+verb or something in between?},
year={2024},
eventtitle={Les marqueurs discursifs (dé)verbaux : approche comparée français/anglais/espagnol},
venue={Université de Picardie Jules Vernes, Amiens} }
Herbeck, P. (2024). Subject expression and perspectivization with verbs of saying: A corpus study of spoken Catalan. (Un)reality and evidentiality in language, cognition, society, University of Cyprus, Nicosia.
author={Herbeck, P.},
title={Subject expression and perspectivization with verbs of saying: A corpus study of spoken Catalan},
year={2024},
eventtitle={(Un)reality and evidentiality in language, cognition, society},
venue={University of Cyprus, Nicosia} }
Herbeck, P. (2024). How perspective shapes first-person singular subject pronoun expression – Verbs of saying in two corpora of spoken Catalan. In Pronouns in Catalan (and beyond). VI Jornades de Lingüística Catalana a Viena, University of Vienna.
author={Herbeck, P.},
title={How perspective shapes first-person singular subject pronoun expression – Verbs of saying in two corpora of spoken Catalan},
year={2024},
eventtitle={VI Jornades de Lingüística Catalana a Viena},
venue={University of Vienna},
journal={Pronouns in Catalan (and beyond)} }
Remberger, E.-M. (2024). From verbal form to discourse marker: Distributed Morphology and grammaticalization. In Historical morphology and morphological theory [Poster]. IMM 21, Vienna.
author={Remberger, E.-M.},
title={From verbal form to discourse marker: Distributed Morphology and grammaticalization},
year={2024},
eventtitle={IMM 21},
venue={Vienna},
journal={Historical morphology and morphological theory} }