Studies on Old High German Syntax
Left sentence periphery, verb placement and verb-second
| Saarland University
This monograph is the first book-length study on Old High German syntax from a generative perspective in twenty years. It provides an in-depth exploration of the Old High German pre-verb-second grammar by answering the following questions: To what extent did generalized verb movement exist in Old High German? Was there already obligatory XP-movement to the left periphery in declarative root clauses? What deviations from the linear verb-second restriction are attested and what do such phenomena reveal about the structure of the left sentence periphery? Did verb placement play the same role in sentence typing as in the modern verb-second languages? A further major topic is null subjects: It is claimed that Old High German was a partial pro-drop language. All these issues are addressed from a comparative-diachronic perspective by integrating research on other Old Germanic languages, in particular on Old English and Gothic. This book is of interest to all those working in the fields of comparative Germanic syntax and historical linguistics.
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 112] 2007. xii, 364 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins/Katrin Axel (German rights)
Table of Contents
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Acknowledgements
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ix–x
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Abbreviations and symbols
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xi–xii
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Chapter 1. Introduction
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1–25
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Chapter 2. Verb movement
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27–111
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Chapter 3. Verb-first declaratives
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113–172
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Chapter 4. Left sentence periphery and xp-movement
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173–235
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Chapter 5. Pronoun placement and sentence structure
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237–292
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Chapter 6. Null subjects and verb placement
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293–327
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Summary
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329–333
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References
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335–358
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Index
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359–363
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“This is an important book. Its thoroughness, precision and insightfulness are sure to make it the standard study of Old High German clausal syntax, a starting point and touchstone for future inquiry in this field. In bringing OHG out of the relative penumbra in which it has languished, providing it with a description comparable in completeness and currency to those developed for other medieval Germanic languages (including, most prominently, Old English) in recent years, and revealing it to be a syntactically exciting language, the volume has also contributed to the wider inquiry into the development of Germanic Syntax.”
Wayne Harbert, Cornell University, in Diachronica 25(3), 2008
“Insgesamt stellt diese Arbeit eine auβerordentlich detaillierte, gründliche und reflektierte Auseinandersetzung mit den Phänomenen und mit den vorgeschlagenen und möglichen Erklärungsversuchen dar. Die Arbeit bildetd sicherlich in mancher Hinsicht einen Markstein in der Erforschung der althochdeutschen Syntax und eine gute basis für weitere Forschungen.”
Andreas Lötscher, Olten, in Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 131(3): 511-516
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Subjects
Linguistics
BIC Subject: CFK – Grammar, syntax
BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General
U.S. Library of Congress Control Number: 2007035307