Jaume Solà i Pujols - Departament de Filologia Catalana ...

So both preverbal subjects and CLLD elements involve a pause only optionally, which
depends on the degree of emphasis (in fact, it is not a discrete sign: one can add more emphasis
by overdoing the tone break or adding a pause, in a continuous way). It may be the case that with
CLLD elements the (optional) dislocation pattern is used more often than with subjects. But if so,
it would be natural: subjects are more often [+human] than internal Arguments; [+human] DPs
are more often D-linked for obvious reasons; D-linked DPs need less emphasis to be introduced;
therefore, by diffuse-logic modus ponens, subjects need the emphatic dislocation pattern less
often.
As for the interpretative clue, it has often been contended that a true dislocated element
cannot be used in a sentence which is a natural answer to 'What is happening?'. This test, apart
from being a bit vague (it implicitly relies on pragmatic factors such as speakers' optimal
cooperation) does not give clear results. All of the following examples in Catalan are a
reasonable answer to 'What's happening?' (e.g., when someone arrives and feels something
strange in the atmosphere):
(4) a. A en Joan li han robat la cartera.
1
To the J. him-have robbed the wallet
= 0.a)
b. Al nen l'ha mossegat una rata
To-the child him-has bitten a rat
'A rat bit the child'
c. A en Joan li han concedit una beca
To the J. him-have-they awarded a grant
'Joan has been awarded a grant'
d. A en Joan li ha vingut un atac de cor
To the J. him-has come an attack of heart
'Joan had a heart attack'