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complemento di argomento

English translation: topical complement

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:complemento di argomento
English translation:topical complement
Entered by: dandamesh

13:46 Mar 9, 2012
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Linguistics / Latin grammar
Italian term or phrase: complemento di argomento
Remember your Latin grammar? I've found "object argument" for this one, but I'm not sure at all.
Here's the sentence:

Qualsiasi studentello del ginnasio sa che la preposizione de davanti all’ablativo, in assenza di altri elementi qualificanti come il verbo inscribere, o locuzioni del tipo cui titulus est, forma un complemento di argomento che designa il soggetto trattato nell’opera.

The Latin words are all in italics.
Alexandra Speirs
Local time: 09:01
topical complement
Explanation:
10.1. Topic
Topic is coded through de with the ablative, as in titles of literary works (de bello civili ‘The Civil
War’; de rerum natura, ‘On the Nature of Things’); an example is (165):
(165) Cic. Verr. 2,1,72: de quo ne multa disseram tantum dico, …
‘in order not to discuss this matter at length, I will only say …’

http://attach.matita.net/silvialuraghi/file/article2_Luraghi...



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Note added at 39 mins (2012-03-09 14:25:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In possessive clauses the possessor-NP is represented as a topical complement in the adessive caseIn Finno-Ugric languages, such as Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian, the adessive case (from Latin adesse "to be present") is the fourth of the locative cases with the basic meaning of "on".
.....
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Estonian clause patterns--from...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2012-03-09 17:14:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The problem with "object argument" is that it may be complemento oggetto (accusativo) while your text mentions the use of the preposition "de" + ablative, which is ideal for titles, such as De Rerum Natura, De Bello Gallico, focusing on the topic.

7. Prepositions regularly precede the words they govern.
a. But limiting words often intervene between the Preposition and its case; as,—
dē commūnī hominum memoriā, concerning the common memory of men;
http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/bennett.html#sect201

However topic/topical can be confused with "luogo" and locative. I've noticed a (rare) use of core-topic or focus complement
Selected response from:

dandamesh
Grading comment
thanks again!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3topical complement
dandamesh


  

Answers


28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
topical complement


Explanation:
10.1. Topic
Topic is coded through de with the ablative, as in titles of literary works (de bello civili ‘The Civil
War’; de rerum natura, ‘On the Nature of Things’); an example is (165):
(165) Cic. Verr. 2,1,72: de quo ne multa disseram tantum dico, …
‘in order not to discuss this matter at length, I will only say …’

http://attach.matita.net/silvialuraghi/file/article2_Luraghi...



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 mins (2012-03-09 14:25:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In possessive clauses the possessor-NP is represented as a topical complement in the adessive caseIn Finno-Ugric languages, such as Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian, the adessive case (from Latin adesse "to be present") is the fourth of the locative cases with the basic meaning of "on".
.....
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Estonian clause patterns--from...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2012-03-09 17:14:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The problem with "object argument" is that it may be complemento oggetto (accusativo) while your text mentions the use of the preposition "de" + ablative, which is ideal for titles, such as De Rerum Natura, De Bello Gallico, focusing on the topic.

7. Prepositions regularly precede the words they govern.
a. But limiting words often intervene between the Preposition and its case; as,—
dē commūnī hominum memoriā, concerning the common memory of men;
http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/bennett.html#sect201

However topic/topical can be confused with "luogo" and locative. I've noticed a (rare) use of core-topic or focus complement

dandamesh
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
thanks again!
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks! I found a few more examples - http://www.lingref.com/cpp/tls/2004/paper1512.pdf

Asker: Yes, that's why I had my doubts about "object argument". I think topical should be clear enough. This article is strictly for the initiated anyway - people arguing about something Augustine wrote and what he actually meant. But I don't have the disputed Latin text, only the Italian, with (**) where the author will insert any quotations.

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