Clausal Architecture and Subject Positions
Impersonal constructions in the Germanic languages
| University of Stuttgart
This book offers a comparative study of the Germanic languages. It promotes a new approach to the OV vs. VO classification, according to which all clauses have a universal base where the internal argument is always merged in SpecVP. Word order differences and their correlates result from an interaction of checking conditions, the EPP and different types of verb movement, and from parametric variation concerning the location of the subject of predication in the I- or in the C-system. In the discussion of a range of impersonal constructions in German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Yiddish, Icelandic, the Mainland Scandinavian languages and English, it is shown that crosslinguistic variation as regards, e.g., the distribution of the expletive in impersonal passives and the occurrence of a Definiteness Effect in Transitive Expletive Constructions is mainly due to the choice of different kinds of 'expletive' elements (each associated with different featural make-ups which force them to show up in different positions), namely true expletives, event arguments and quasi-arguments, whereas expletive pro is shown not to exist.
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 88] 2005. viii, 207 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Acknowledgements
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viii
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I. Introduction
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0. Introduction
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3–8
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II. Clausal architecture and the EPP
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1. Subject positions and the EPP: The evolution of the two concepts
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11–39
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2. The EPP and the Extension Condition
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40–54
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3. Clause structure
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55–76
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4. Checking
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77–101
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5. The 'universal EPP' on T
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102–109
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6. Summary
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110–112
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III. Impersonal constructions and subject positions
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7. The constructions to be discussed and previous accounts
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115–133
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8. The derivation of presentational sentences and impersonal passives
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134–174
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9. Constructions involving quasi-arguments (or not)
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175–188
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10. Summary
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189–191
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IV. Conclusion
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11. Conclusion
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195–198
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References
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199–204
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Index
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205–207
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Cited by
Cited by 9 other publications
Abraham, Werner & Elisabeth Leiss
2006. Personal and Impersonal Passives: Definite vs. Indefinite Diatheses.
Transactions of the Philological Society 104:2 ► pp. 259 ff. 
Anderssen, Merete, Kristine Bentzen, Yulia Rodina & Marit Westergaard
2010.
In Variation in the Input [Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistics, 39],
► pp. 241 ff.
Anderssen, Merete, Kristine Bentzen & Yulia Rodina
2012. Topicality and Complexity in the Acquisition of Norwegian Object Shift.
Language Acquisition 19:1 ► pp. 39 ff.
Anderssen, Merete & Marit Westergaard
2020.
In Lost in Transmission [Studies in Bilingualism, 59],
► pp. 100 ff.
Bentzen, Kristine
2009. Subject positions and their interaction with verb movement.
Studia Linguistica 63:3 ► pp. 261 ff.
Kucerová, Ivona
2012. The T-Extension Condition.
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique 57:3 ► pp. 387 ff.
Kupula, Mikko
2011. A Phase Extension Approach to Double Object Constructions - Evidence from Modern Greek*.
Studia Linguistica 65:2 ► pp. 147 ff.
Sigurðsson, Halldór Ármann
2010. On EPP Effects*.
Studia Linguistica ► pp. no ff.
Westergaard, Marit
2011. Subject positions and information structure: the effect of frequency on acquisition and change.
Studia Linguistica 65:3 ► pp. 299 ff.
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Subjects
BIC Subject: CF – Linguistics
BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General