Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft Volume 36 Issue 2

Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft

Volume 36 Issue 2

Contents
Journal Overview

Frontmatter

January 11, 2018 Page range: I-V

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Articles

Explaining alienability contrasts in adpossessive constructions: Predictability vs. iconicity

Martin Haspelmath November 2, 2017 Page range: 193-231

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Abstract

This paper argues that alienability contrasts in adnominal possessive constructions should not be explained by iconicity of distance, but by predictability due to the higher relative frequency of possessed occurrences of inalienable nouns. While it is true that when there is an alienability split, the alienable construction typically has an additional marker which often separates the possessor from the possessed noun, the broader generalization is that additional marking is found when the possessive relationship is less predictable. This generalization also extends to cases of antipossessive marking and impossessibility. The diachronic mechanisms responsible for the development of alienability contrasts are differential reduction and differential inhibition of a new construction.

On the emergence of reduplication in German morphophonology

Gerrit Kentner November 2, 2017 Page range: 233-277

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Abstract

This paper discusses reduplication as a technique of word formation in German. In contrast to previous approaches, which consider reduplication as extra-grammatical and unproductive, this study identifies rhyme and ablaut reduplication as truly reduplicative processes in the morphology of German. A sizeable corpus of these reduplications and an acceptability rating study attest the productivity of this phenomenon. Other contemplable cases of reduplicative structures are properly treated as either phonological doubling, lexical sequencing, or (special cases of) compounding. An analysis in terms of Optimality Theory (OT) is offered which suggests that both rhyme and ablaut reduplication emerge when a segmentally and prosodically underspecified expressive morpheme is attached to a base – given that the base strictly obeys certain word prosodic requirements. The present approach considers the morphophonology to be blind to morphosyntactic structure and consequently eschews constraints that make explicit reference to base-reduplicant correspondence. The OT grammar successfully models the emergence of the fixed bipedal structure, the obligatory segmental deviance of the reduplicant, non-exponence of the expressive morpheme in the case of non-trochaic bases, the variable linearization of base and reduplicant in ablaut reduplication, and the interaction of reduplication with segmental alternations. Certain (crosslinguistic) correlations regarding constraints on reduplicative word formation and poetic devices, such as rhyme and meter, are discussed.

Backward binding as a psych effect: A binding illusion?

Anne Temme, Elisabeth Verhoeven November 2, 2017 Page range: 279-308

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Abstract

Bound anaphors inside subjects challenge the c-command requirement for binding. At least in some languages, experiencer-object verbs such as worry or please are reported to license this type of backward dependence. In many cases, the underlying facts are based on unstable intuitions potentially influenced by intervening factors, such as accidental coreference and binding illusions. This article reports the results of an experiment on backward binding with accusative and dative experiencer-object verbs in German; in this experiment, crucial sources of variation are controlled. The results show that verb class (experiencer-object vs. agentive) has a significant effect on variable binding, both for dative and for accusative verbs. This result cannot be accounted for through accidental coreference and is not reducible to effects of sentence aspect, the latter being correlated with the distinction between experiencer-object and agentive verbs. These findings are evidence for backward binding as a genuine psych effect in German.

Das Linguistische Antiquariat

Jean-Marie Zemb: Vergleichende Grammatik Französisch-Deutsch. Teil 1: Comparaison de deux systèmes. Teil 2: L’économie de la langue et le jeu de la parole. Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut, 1978, 1984 (Duden-Sonderreihe Vergleichende Grammatiken Bd. 1, Bd. 2)

Marcus Kracht November 2, 2017 Page range: 309-316

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Rezensionen

Sören Stumpf: Formelhafte (Ir-)Regularitäten. Korpuslinguistische Befunde und sprachtheoretische Überlegungen. Frankfurt am Main, Bern, Brüssel, New York: Peter Lang 2015 (Sprache, System und Tätigkeit 67)

Vincent Balnat November 2, 2017 Page range: 317-318

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Frank Liedtke: Moderne Pragmatik. Grundbegriffe und Methoden. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto 2016 (Narr Studienbücher).

Joschka Briese November 2, 2017 Page range: 319-325

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About this journal

Objective

The aim of the journal is to promote linguistic research by publishing high-quality contributions and thematic special issues from all fields and trends of modern linguistics. In addition to articles and reviews, the journal also features contributions to discussions on current controversies in the field as well as overview articles outlining the state-of-the art of relevant research paradigms.

Topics

General Linguistics
Language Typology
Language acquisition, language change and synchronic variation
Empirical linguistics: experimental and corpus-based research
Contributions to theory-building

Article formats

Research articles, reviews, forum articles