Clause-typing by [2] – the loss of the 2nd person pronoun du 'you' in Dutch, Frisian and Limburgian dialects
The 2nd person singular pronoun du ‘you’ has been replaced by new pronouns gij/jij/jii in many Dutch dialects. The standard explanation attributes du’s decline to the emerging honorific plural pronouns such as gij ‘you’ in singular use. In this study we trace a purely syntactic trigger for this change, thus replacing sociolinguistic and paradigmatic explanations (deflection). Using dialect geographic tools of the GTRP dialect database, we found a significant correlation between the loss of du and the rise of double present tense paradigms (direct and inverse). By defining two types of Verb Second, C-type V2 (Den Besten) and C/T-type V2 (Zwart), we show that a transition between those types predicts the loss of position-dependent spelled out pronouns such as du. The factor that blocks Den Besten-type V2 structures in clauses with [2] in Dutch dialects is the clause-typing property of the feature [2], which generate a violation that is similar to the that-trace violations with the [WH] feature. Keywords: verb second; that-trace effect; clause-typing; position-dependent spell out; pronouns; inflection; person
Cited by (3)
Cited by three other publications
Karen De Clercq, Liliane Haegeman, Terje Lohndal & Christine Meklenborg
2023.
Adverbial Resumption in Verb Second Languages,

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 january 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.