Topic, Focus, and V2 Defining the CP Sublayers

Abstract In this chapter we intend to contribute to the cartography of the CP layer and give a more detailed analysis of the portion of the CP structure that encodes distinctions between theme and rheme, exploiting data from standard Italian and nonstandard varieties. We interpret the cartographic program as an inquiry aiming at localizing functional projections and reconstructing a “fine structure.” There is no limit, in our view, as to how many of these projections there will ultimately be, provided that there is a syntactic and semantic justification for them.