Showing papers in "Zeitschrift Fur Sprachwissenschaft in 2006"

French wh-in-situ questions and syntactic optionality : Evidence from three data types

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to corroborate the assumption of syntactic optionality for French wh-questions. In terms of a broader basis of evidence three different data types are utilized: Firstly, a qualitative interview approach suggests that wh-in-situ does not show the syntactic restrictions postulated by Boskovic (1998) and Cheng & Rooryck (2000), weakening the evidence in favor of the assumption of LF-movement. Secondly, a graded grammaticality judgment test reveals that even in terms of fine nuances an identical level of grammaticality exists between the wh-in-situ form and its counterpart with wh-movement. Given the fact that several crucial judgments in the literature on French wh-in-situ are doubtful, these approaches turn out to be particularly helpful for controlling undesirable interferences in the judgment process and for obtaining more reliable data. Thirdly, a reading time study shows that both variants have the same cognitive complexity in processing. These empirical studies come along with methodological work concerning the development and evaluation of the instruments. From a conceptual point of view the inherent contradiction to which optionality and economy lead within the minimalist framework will be addressed. I will largely follow the suggestion of Haider & Rosengren (2003), who assume optional movement to be exploited at the interface level of syntax. Concerning the latter, I point out that different registers partly correlate with different French wh-questions.

Reflections on Noun-to-Verb Conversion In English

Abstract: English denominal verbs formed by conversion adopt complex morphosyntactic and semantic information in a rather mysterious way. For example, the lexical item bottle is unambiguously interpreted as a referential expression in a sentence like John bought a bottle of wine, but how do we account for the event-reading of the same lexical item in a sentence like John bottled the wine? In this study it will be argued that the lexical information of converted denominal verbs is not provided by an unspecified zero-affix, but by conceptual qualia structures, i. e. by modes of explanation, and that these make explicit the implicit knowledge speakers of English have about the referents of nominal bases and determine the interpretation and formation of the corresponding verbs. Moreover, qualia structures yield not only the basic meanings of denominal verbs, but also allow for context-dependent interpretations, which are a result of coercion (e. g. John bottled the spectators). A mapping relation between qualia structures and argument structures, the latter of which are part of the lexical representation of the denominal verbs, will be established by meaning postulates.

Einheitenkonstruktion im Türkendeutschen : Grammatische und prosodische Aspekte

Abstract: Our article investigates grammatical and prosodic aspects of turn construction in 'Tiirkendeutsch' (Turkish German), a new ethnic variety of German that is spoken mainly by Turkish adolescents. In our approach, Turkish German is regarded as a style of speaking that is systematically used as a resource for the organization of natural conversational interaction. On the basis of interactional linguistic theory and conversation-analytic methodology, we investigate pre-positionings and post-positionings of turn constructional units, short prosodic units, and principles of accent placement on word and utterance level. In Turkish German, pre-positionings of temporal adverbs - with following V2-clauses - are often packaged in separate prosodic units with primary accents. Such prosodically exposed pre-positionings are used as focusing devices in narratives. Some kinds of post-positionings are formated according to particular rules of Turkish German which are influenced by Turkish principles of accentuation. They are deployed to shift the focus to the very end of the turn-constructional unit and thus create suspense andlor focus each bit of information separately. Accentuation principles on both word and utterance level have been found to differ from Standard German accentuation rules in specific contexts. A speaker may playfully shift a word accent (word stress) to create ironic distance; in other instances, primary accents of utterances are shifted to constitute rhythmic coherence with prior utterances rather than to signal the focus of the utterance. To sum up, grammatical and prosodic resources are shown to be systematically used for the organization of talk-in-interaction.

Shared material and grammar : Toward a dependency grammar theory of non-gapping coordination for English and German

Abstract: The paper presents a dependency grammar theory of non-gapping coordination. The approach draws a distinction between standard cases of coordination called String Coordination and gapping. Only small conjuncts are acknowledged. The core of the approach is expressed in terms of three constraints the Contiguity Requirement (CR), the Parallelism Requirement (PR), and the Restriction on Shared Constituents (RSC) that restrict which strings may be coordinated and in terms of the material that conjuncts may share. The claims made are valid for both English and German.

Anti-Ikonizität an der Syntax-Semantik-Schnittstelle

Abstract: The syntax-semantics interface is iconic in that it maps syntactic asymmetries (in particular, unilateral c-command) onto semantic asymmetries (scope relations). But many modification structures seem to violate this iconicity: here the modifier has (optionally or obligatorily) semantic scope over only a part of the expression that it modifies syntactically. First I will show that some well-known cases of syntax-semantics mismatch are instances of this phenomenon. Then I will specify an extremely flexible syntax-semantics interface to handle the apparent anti-iconicity. This interface crucially relies on the expressive power of a suitable under-specification formalism. With the interface one can derive the semantic representations of the problematic examples from surface-oriented syntactic structures without giving up the iconicity between syntax and semantics. Apparent anti-iconicity eventually emerges as scope under specification between a modifier and part of the expression that it modifies. The analysis is applied to German and Turkish data.

Topologische Felder: Nominalphrase und Satz im Deutschen

Abstract: In this paper, the linear structures of clauses and nominal phrases are compared in a topo logical framework. The approach is based on the distinction between positions and fields: the first position is the functional core of the clause (C-position) and the NP (Def-position), the second is the semantic core of the clause (VK = verbal complex) and NP (Nom-position). The C- and Def-positions are restricted to one simple or complex constituent, whereas the VK- and Nom-positions can be filled by several syntactic elements. The VK/Nom-positions contain one head, which governs the other parts. Three fields are used to describe the word order in clauses and NPs: the "Vorfeld" (K-field/Z-field), the "Mittelfeld" (X-field) and the "Nachfeld" (Z-field). The common characteristic of K-field and Z-field is the restriction to only one constituent. The middle fields of clauses and NPs are in part structured according to Behaghels law ("semantic connection of constituents is mirrored in syntactic adjacency"). In,,Nachfeld" and Z-field complements are closer to the semantic core (VK resp. Nom) than adjuncts. In sum, there are correspondences between clauses and nominal phrases, but also several differences. This study is a first step to develop a common topological fields model for both.

Die Genitivflexion von artikellos verwendbaren Eigennamen als syntaktisch konditionierte Allomorphie

Abstract: Based on Eisenberg's (2000) insight that German has four genders instead of three, genitive singular inflection turns out to be driven by gender alone. The concept of inflection classes can be dispensed with for this subject. However, as has been noticed, proper names disturb this clear picture because a subset of female proper names seems to vacillate between zero inflection as is typical of female nouns and s-inflection as is typical of masculine and neuter nouns. On closer inspection, it turns out that the s-marker for female proper names differs significantly from the s-marker for masculine and neuter generic nouns. Moreover, non-female proper names may also show zero inflection in the genitive. In order to analyze these data, I distinguish two distinct classes of proper names: members of the first class of proper names are allowed to appear without an article in contexts where members of the other class need one. I call this first class 'grammatical proper names'. In genitive singular inflection, grammatical proper names are either zero marked or marked by a specific s-marker. The conditioning factor is whether or not the head position of the DP is filled with a word.