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This paper deals with the variable position of adjectives in the Romanian DP. As all other Romance languages, Romanian allows for adjectives to appear in both prenominal and post-nominal position. In addition, however, Romanian has a third pattern: the so-called cel construction, in which the adjective in the post-nominal position is preceded by a determiner-like element, cel. This pattern is superficially similar to Determiner Spreading in Greek. In this paper we contrast the cel construction to Greek DS and discuss the similarities and differences between the two. We then present an analysis of cel as involving an appositive specification clause, building on de Vries (2002). We argue that the same structure is also involved in the context of nominal ellipsis, the second environment in which cel is found.
The causative/anticausative alternation has been the topic of much typological and theoretical discussion in the linguistic literature. This alternation is characterized by verbs with transitive and intransitive uses, such that the transitive use of a verb V means roughly "cause to Vintransitive" (see Levin 1993). The discussion revolves around two issues: the first one concerns the similarities and differences between the anticausative and the passive, and the second one concerns the derivational relationship, if any, between the transitive and intransitive variant. With respect to the second issue, a number of approaches have been developed. Judging the approach conceptually unsatisfactory, according to which each variant is assigned an independent lexical entry, it was concluded that the two variants have to be derivationally related. The question then is which one of the two is basic and where this derivation takes place in the grammar. Our contribution to this discussion is to argue against derivational approaches to the causative / anticausative alternation. We focus on the distribution of PPs related to external arguments (agent, causer, instrument, causing event) in passives and anticausatives of English, German and Greek and the set of verbs undergoing the causative/anticausative alternation in these languages. We argue that the crosslinguistic differences in these two domains provide evidence against both causativization and detransitivization analyses of the causative / anticausative alternation. We offer an approach to this alternation which builds on a syntactic decomposition of change of state verbs into a Voice and a CAUS component. Crosslinguistic variation in passives and anticausatives depends on properties of Voice and its combinations with CAUS and various types of roots.
In this paper we compare the distribution of PPs introducing external arguments in nominalizations with PPs introducing external arguments in the verbal domain. We show that several mismatches exist between the behavior of PPs in nominalizations and PPs in the verbal domain. This leads us to suggest that while PPs in the verbal domain are licensed by functional structure alone, within the nominal domain, PPs can also be licensed via an interplay of the encyclopaedic meaning of the root involved and the properties of the preposition itself. This second mechanism kicks in in the absence of functional structure.
The aim of this paper is to address two main counterarguments raised in Landau (2007) against the movement analysis of Control, and especially against the phenomenon of Backward Control. The paper shows that unlike the situation described in Tsez (Polinsky & Potsdam 2002), Landau's objections do not hold for Greek and Romanian, where all obligatory control verbs exhibit Backward Control. Our results thus provide stronger empirical support for a theoretical approach to Control in terms of Movement, as defended in Hornstein (1999 and subsequent work).
In the recent literature the phenomenon of long distance agreement has become the focus of several studies as it seems to violate certain locality conditions which require that agreeing elements in general stand in clause-mate relationships. In particular, it involves a verb agreeing with a constituent which is located in the verb's clausal complement and hence poses a challenge for theories that assume a strictly local relationship for agreement. In this paper we present empirical evidence from Greek and Romanian for the reality of long distance agreement. Specifically, we focus on raising constructions in these two languages and we show that they do not involve movement but rather instantiate long distance agreement. We further argue that subjunctives allowing long distance agreement lack both a CP layer and semantic Tense. However, since the embedded verb also bears phi-features, these constructions pose a further problem for assumptions that view the presence of phi-features as evidence for the presence of a C layer. Finally, we raise the question of the common properties that these languages have that lead to the presence of long distance agreement.
The goal of this paper is to re-examine the status of the condition in (1) proposed in Alexiadou and Anagnostopoulou (2001; henceforth A&A 2001), in view of recent developments in syntactic theory. (1) The subject-in-situ generalization (SSG) By Spell-Out, vP can contain only one argument with a structural Case feature. We argue that (1) is a more general condition than previously recognized, and that the domain of its application is parametrized. More specifically, based on a comparison between Indo-European (IE) and Khoisan languages, we argue that (1) supports an interpretation of the EPP as a general principle, and not as a property of T. Viewed this way, the SSG is a condition that forces dislocation of arguments as a consequence of a constraint on Case checking.
In this paper we investigate the distribution of PPs related to external arguments (agent, causer, instrument, causing event) in Greek. We argue that their distribution supports an analysis, according to which agentive/instrument and causer PPs are licensed by distinct functional heads, respectively. We argue against a conceivable alternative analysis, which links agentivity and causation to the prepositions themselves. We furthermore identify a particular type of Voice head in Greek anticausative realised by non-active Voice morphology.
In the recent literature there is growing interest in the morpho-syntactic encoding of hierarchical effects. The paper investigates one domain where such effects are attested: ergative splits conditioned by person. This type of splits is then compared to hierarchical effects in direct-inverse alternations. On the basis of two case studies (Lummi instantiating an ergative split person language and Passamaquoddy an inverse language) we offer an account that makes no use of hierarchies as a primitive. We propose that the two language types differ as far as the location of person features is concerned. In inverse systems person features are located exclusively in T, while in ergative systems, they are located in T and a particular type of v. A consequence of our analysis is that Case checking in split and inverse systems is guided by the presence/absence of specific phi-features. This in turn provides evidence for a close connection between Case and phi-features, reminiscent of Chomsky’s (2000, 2001) Agree.
In many languages, a passive-like meaning may be obtained through a noncanonical passive construction. The get passive (1b) in English, the se faire passive (2b) in French and the kriegen passive (3b) in German represent typical manifestations. This squib focuses on the behavior of the get-passive in English and discusses a number of restrictions associated with it as well as the status of get.
The paper is structured as follows. Section 2.1 introduces the basic classes of adjectives that constitute the factual core of the paper. Section 2.2 summarizes in greater detail the X° and the XP movement approaches to word order variation within the DP. Section 3 briefly discusses problems for both approaches. Sections 4.1, 5.1, and 5.2 draw from Alexiadou (2001) and contain a discussion of Greek DS and its relevance for a re-analysis of the word order variation in the Romance DP. Section 4.2 introduces refinements to Alexiadou & Wilder (1998) and Alexiadou (2001). Section 5.3. discusses certain issues that arise from the analysis of postnominal adjectives in Romance as involving raising of XPs. Section 6 discusses phenomena found in other languages, which at first sight seem similar to DS. However, I show that double definiteness in e.g. Hebrew, Scandinavian or other Balkan languages constitutes a different type of phenomenon from Greek DS, thus making a distinction between determiners that introduce CPs (Greek) and those that are merely morphological/agreement markers (Hebrew, Scandinavian, Albanian).
This paper is a preliminary comparative study of the relation between word order and information structure in three Null Subject Languages ((NSLs) Spanish, Italian and Greek). The aim is twofold: first I seek to examine the differences and the similarities among these languages in this domain of their syntax. Secon, I investigate the possible derivations of the various patterns and attempt to localize the differences among these languages in different underlying syntactic structures.
It is common knowledge in the field of Philippine linguistics that an ang-marked direct object in a non-actor focus clause must be definite or generic, while a ng-marked object in an actor focus clause typically receives a nonspecific interpretation. However, in contexts like wh-questions, the oblique object in an antipassive may be interpreted as specific, as noted by Schachter & Otanes (1972), Maclachlan & Nakamura (1997), Rackowski (2002), and others. […] In this paper, I propose to account for the specificity effects […] within the analysis of Tagalog syntax put forth by Aldridge (2004). I analyze Tagalog as an ergative language […]. Cross linguistically, antipassive oblique objects receive a nonspecific interpretation, while absolutives are definite or generic. I show in this paper how the Tagalog facts can be subsumed under a general account of ergativity.
Predication and equation
(2001)
English is one language where equative sentences and non-equative sentences have a similar surface syntax (but see Heggie 1988 and Moro 1997 for a discussion of more subtle differences). In this paper we address the fact that many other languages appear to use radically different morphological means which seem to map to intuitive differences in the type of predication expressed. We take one such language, Scottish Gaelic, and show that the real difference is not between equative and non-equative sentences, but is rather dependent on whether the predicational head in the structure proposed above is eventive or not.
We show that the aparently odd syntax of “equatives” in this language derives from the fact that they are constructed via a non-eventive Pred head. Since Pred heads cannot combine with non-predicative categories, such as saturated DPs, “equatives” are built up indirectly from a simple predicational structure with a semantically bleached predicate. This approach not only allows us to maintain a strict one-to-one syntax/semantics mapping for predicational syntax, but also for the syntax of DPs. The argument we develop here, then, suggests that the interface between the syntactic and semantic components is maximally economical— one could say perfect.
This paper deals with left and right dislocation in Embɔsi, a Bantu language (C25) spoken in Congo-Brazzaville. The prosody of dislocation has gathered considerable attention, as it is particularly informative for the theories of the syntax-prosody mapping of Intonation Phrases (a.o. Selkirk, 2009, 2011; Downing, 2011). Concentrating on selected Bantu languages, Downing (2011) identifies two main phrasing patterns. She primarily distinguishes languages in which only right dislocated phrases display a lack of prosodic integration ("asymmetric" languages), from languages in which both left and right dislocations phrase separately ("symmetric" languages). Hiatus avoidance processes, boundary tones and register expansion/reduction indicate that Embɔsi displays a somewhat more intricate phrasing pattern. In this language, both left and right dislocated items sit outside of the Intonation Phrase formed by the core-clause, but only the latter form their own Intonation Phrase. We also discuss the prosody of multiple dislocations (i.e. with two dislocated arguments), which have not so far received all the attention they deserve. What we observe in Embɔsi is that either the two dislocated items phrase together and are not integrated to the core Intonation Phrase, or only the outermost dislocated element phrases separately.
This paper demonstrates that there are no empirical and theoretical motivations for regarding verbal predicate focus constructions as (diachronically) derived from cleft constructions. Instead, it is argued that predicate fronting for the purpose of focus or topic is comparable to verb (phrase) fronting structures in other languages (e.g., Germanic). The proposed analysis further indicates that related doubling strategies observed in certain languages are the consequences of parallel chains that license the fronted verb (phrase) in the left periphery, and the Agree-tense-aspect features inside the proposition.
Mit Hilfe der Sprache verstehen wir einander, kommunizieren wir mit den Menschen um uns herum, denken wir über Dinge und Vorgänge nach; die Sprache hilft uns die Welt und die Menschen um uns zu erfassen. Die Sprachen, die sich gleichzeitig mit den menschlichen Gemeinschaften entwickeln, eignen wir uns nicht nur an und benutzen sie, sondern wir erforschen sie auch. Die Erforschung der Sprachen hat auf allgemeiner Ebene weltweit eine sehr lange Tradition. Auf ihre Entwicklung haben einen bedeutenden Einfluss nicht nur die „traditionellen“ Wissenschaftsdisziplinen wie zum Beispiel die Linguistik, die Literaturwissenschaft, die Pädagogik oder die Geschichtswissenschaften, sondern auch sich stetig etablierende neuere Wissenschaften, zu denen etwa die Soziolinguistik, die Psycholinguistik, die Kontakt- oder Areallinguistik oder die Fremdsprachendidaktik gehören. Wie zum Teil bereits durch einige soeben genannte wissenschaftliche Disziplinen angedeutet, wird die Erforschung der Sprachen durch die gesellschaftspolitische Entwicklung eines konkreten soziokulturellen und regional eingeschränkten Umfelds während einer bestimmten zeitlich begrenzten Epoche beeinflusst. Eine der wichtigsten Herausforderungen für die heutige Gesellschaft ist neben der Entwicklung einer funktionellen Mehrsprachigkeit des Einzelnen auch die Respektierung sprachlicher wie kultureller Vielfalt, die Wahrnehmung der Sprache als identitätsbestimmendes und identitätsentwickelndes Phänomen sowie als wichtiger Bestandteil unseres gemeinsamen kulturellen Erbes.
In diesem Verständnis wurde die Konferenz Deutsch ohne Grenzen zum Anlass für eine internationale wissenschaftliche Diskussion über die aktuelle Entwicklung im Bereich der multidimensional und transnational aufgefassten germanistischen Linguistik und Literaturwissenschaft, ausgewählter Gesellschaftswissenschaften sowie der Didaktik im Fach Deutsch als Fremdsprache im europäischen Kontext.
Der vierteilige Sammelband beinhaltet den Großteil der im Verlauf dieser Konferenz präsentierten theoretischen und empirischen Beiträge, die im September 2014 an der Pädagogischen und an der Philosophischen Fakultät der Südböhmischen Universität in České Budějovice stattgefunden hat. Ihr Hauptorganisator war der Germanistenverband der Tschechischen Republik. An der Konferenz nahmen 142 Fachleute aus elf Ländern teil. [...]
Der vorliegende Teil des Sammelbandes stellt die linguistische Sektion dar, in der das Phänomen Grenze als eines der Zentralthemen der gegenwärtigen linguistischen Forschung thematisiert wurde. Die einzelnen Beiträge konzentrierten sich auf die Frage, ob die Sprache als Kommunikationsmittel wirklich ohne Grenzen ist. Hinsichtlich der Komplexität der natürlichen Sprachen ist die Frage völlig berechtigt, ob gewisse Grenzen wirklich bestimmt werden können, sollen oder sogar müssen, wenn diese komplexen symbolischen Systeme verstanden bzw. auf metasprachlicher Ebene beschrieben werden sollen. Dank der Vertretung von Vortragenden aus mehreren Ländern konnte die Problematik im Kontext der tschechischen wie auch der internationalen germanistischen Forschung untersucht werden. Außer anderem kann auch diese Grenzüberschreitung und die damit verbundene Konfrontation von diversen Perspektiven der Erforschung des Gegenwartsdeutschen für einen bedeutenden Beitrag dieser Konferenz gehalten werden. Dem Wort Grenze wird auch der gesamte erste Aufsatz dieses Sammelbandes gewidmet, in dem dieses Wort vom lexikalischen und stilistischen Gesichtspunkt aus sehr ausführlich untersucht wird.
Die einzelnen Studien spiegeln die aktuelle empirische und theoretische Erforschung der deutschen Sprache wider, wobei sie diverse Schwerpunkte akzentuieren. In den ersten Beiträgen steht die Diachronik im Fokus. Sie widmen sich unter anderem der Beschreibung von mittelalterlichen medizinischen Texten, den sog. Zaubersprüchen, Segen und Beschwörungen, und ihrer sprachlichen Charakterisierung, der historischen Semantik und Möglichkeiten deren Erforschung am Beispiel von historiographischen Texten, der frühen Kodifizierung der deutschen Zeichensetzung, der Problematik der geschriebenen Sprache in der Zeit des Humanismus an der böhmisch-sächsischen Grenze, der Distribution und Funktion von Phraseologismen in journalistischen Texten der 2. Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts, den deutschen Dialekten in Mähren und der Rolle der Sprache, die sie als Kommunikationsmittel einer bestimmten Nation hinsichtlich der historischen Soziolinguistik erfüllt.
This volume presents working versions of presentations heard at and selected for the Workshop on Syntax of Predication, held at ZAS, Berlin, on November 2-3, 2001 (except the editor’s own paper).
Predication is a many-faceted topic which involves both syntax and semantics and the interface between them. This is reflected in the papers of the volume.