« "Le gênant", c‟est qu‟Olivier ne sera pas seul ». The problem of the substantivized topicalized adjective

Abstract

This article analyzes turns of phrases such as “Le gênant, c‟est qu‟Olivier ne sera pas seul”, which are frequently described from a formal point of view as structures of the type article/substantivized adjective. After analyzing the morphosyntactic properties of the turn, we establish that we cannot in reality speak of an adjective substantivized by an article, since neither the adjective becomes a substantive nor the article functions as a real article. The latter can indeed be defined as a “neuter demonstrative-article”. From this perspective we are bound to re-evaluate the pattern of the article within the psychomecanics of language, and to propose a broadened vision of the Guillaumean tenseur binaire, which can be represented by a trimorph model.