Discontinuous Noun Phrases in Classical Latin Prose : A Case Study of Cicero's Pro Milone

Sammanfattning: Studies on the phenomenon of hyperbaton (or discontinuous noun phrases) in Latin have traditionally suffered from over-generalizing descriptions and categorizations drawing on examples from a variety of sources. This thesis attempts a different approach, closely examining the totality of instances in a single text, Cicero’s Pro Milone, in view of establishing a preliminary typology and to investigate the motivations behind it. It also consistently compares the discontinuous data with continuous examples, in order to rule out as many alternative motivations as possible. The results suggest that the discursive value of the components is crucial for whether hyperbaton occurs or not: in particular a combination of a pragmatic function (Topic or Focus) and Contrast, and connects this to some recent theoretical proposals.