Demonstratives, word order and the DP between syntax and semantics: crosslinguistic remarks

The contribution discusses instances of word order variation within nominal structures (DPs), with specific focus on the position of demonstrative elements, and proposes an attempt of a crosslinguistic analysis in a parametric perspective. After the inspection of relevant data collected on purpose, the hypothesis that both cross- and intra- linguistic differences depend on a cluster of features associated to the representation of definiteness in the DP will be explored. Demonstratives are described as merging in a “low” portion of the DP and thereafter attracted to the D-area by virtue of their (gradable) semantic properties related to the definiteness sphere, with variable effects on the surface string. When attracted to the D-area, they manifest D-properties (across different degrees, according to the features they share with the D-area itself) while they exhibit a more “adjectival” behavior when surfacing lower.