Issues in Formal German(ic) Typology
Editors
This book takes up a variety of general syntactic topics, which either yield different solutions in German, in particular, or which lead to different conclusions for theory formation. One of the main topics is the fact that languages that allow for extensive scrambling between the two verbal poles, V-2 and V-last, need to integrate discourse functions like thema and rhema into the grammatical description. This is attempted, in terms of Minimalism, thus extending the functional domain. Special attention is given to the asymmetrical scrambling behavior of indefinites vs. definites and their semantic interpretation. Related topics are: Transitive expletive sentences, types of existential sentences with either BE or HAVE, the that-trace phenomenon and its semantics, negative polarity items, ellipsis and gapping, passivization, double negation — all of which have extensive effects both on distributional behavior and semantic disambiguation, reaching far beyond effects observable in English with its rigid, un-scrambable word order.
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 45] 2002. xviii, 336 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Contributors’ addresses | p. vii
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IntroductionWerner Abraham | p. ix
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German clause structure under discourse functional weight: Focus and antifocusWerner Abraham and László Molnárfi | pp. 1–43
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On the co-occurrence of expletives and definite subjects in GermanicCedric Boeckx | pp. 45–64
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Reconsidering identificational focusJocelyn Cohan | pp. 65–84
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Decomposing existence: Evidence from GermanicChristine Czinglar | pp. 85–126
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Polarity items in English and DanishBritta Jensen | pp. 127–140
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The argument-time structure of recipient constructions in GermanWolfgang Klein | pp. 141–178
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Scrambling and reference in GermanJuergen Lenerz | pp. 179–192
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Attributive adjectives in Germanic and RomanceEnrique Mallén | pp. 193–222
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Die Negationsklammer im Afrikaans: Mehrfachnegation aus formaler und funktionaler SichtLászló Molnárfi | pp. 223–261
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On the syntax and semantics of verb-complement constructions that involve ‘creation’: A comparative study in Greek and GermanAthina Sioupi | pp. 263–284
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Wh-expletives and partial wh -movement: Two non-existing concepts?Wolfgang Sternefeld | pp. 285–305
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Phases in the derivation of elliptical coordinate constructions in GermanicJohn R. te Velde | pp. 307–329
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Index | pp. 331–334
“This fine collection of papers unravels interesting properties of German(ic) and beyond. This volume can be heartily recommended to all researchers of any of the major topics discussed here (partly identified in the title). The volume is a welcome addition to the study of Germanic languages, especially, especially with regard to variation, as it contains intelligent discussions and astute analyses.”
Kleanthes Grohmann, University of Cypres, in Language 79(4), 2003
Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Elordieta, Arantzazu & Bill Haddican
Bucciarelli, Paola, Ramona Bongelli, Andrzej Zuczkowski, Sibilla Cantarini & Christine Berthold
2014. Uncertainty markers in a corpus of German biomedical papers from Spektrum der Wissenschaft (1993-2012). In Communicating Certainty and Uncertainty in Medical, Supportive and Scientific Contexts [Dialogue Studies, 25], ► pp. 341 ff.
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Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CF: Linguistics
Main BISAC Subject
LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General