La fixation des séquences réciproques cumulatives: se V pluriel l’un l’autre

The paper deals with the rise of French sequences where two etymologically and functionally divergent markers, an erstwhile reflexive se and the l’un l’autre cluster, combine to encode reciprocity. Unlike in other old Romance languages, in medieval French (12th to 14th centuries) cumulative reciprocal constructions arise relatively late. In the meantime, they rely either on l’un … l’autre (acting as substitutes of verbal arguments) or on se. The only exception involves pronominal verbs of movement that encode symmetric relations. Two independent mechanisms are claimed to have been responsible for broadening the domain of cumulative sequences: the weakening of anaphoric links of l’un … l’autre to their antecedents and subjectification. Since plural subject-verb agreement is obligatory in sentences with reciprocal se-verbs, the singular l’un is unlikely to fill a slot for subject. Therefore, it is coerced into drifting rightwards to form a single syntactic constituent with l’autre. Subjectifi cation circumscribes cases where, notwithstanding the presence of l’un l’autre, se accompanying a verbal plural is sufficient to convey reciprocity. As a consequence, cumulative sequences become widespread in 16th century. All in all, the shift is viewed as an instance of construction becoming increasingly schematic over time.