The Germanic Languages
The Germanic Languages

Author: Wayne Harbert

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-12-21

Total Pages: 482

ISBN-13: 1139461524

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Germanic - one of the largest sub-groups of the Indo-European language family - comprises 37 languages with an estimated 470 million speakers worldwide. This book presents a comparative linguistic survey of the full range of Germanic languages, both ancient and modern, including major world languages such as English and German (West Germanic), the Scandinavian (North Germanic) languages, and the extinct East Germanic languages. Unlike previous studies, it does not take a chronological or a language-by-language approach, organized instead around linguistic constructions and subsystems. Considering dialects alongside standard varieties, it provides a detailed account of topics such as case, word formation, sound systems, vowel length, syllable structure, the noun phrase, the verb phrase, the expression of tense and mood, and the syntax of the clause. Authoritative and comprehensive, this much-needed survey will be welcomed by scholars and students of the Germanic languages, as well as linguists across the many branches of the field.

On the Formal Syntax of the Westgermania
On the Formal Syntax of the Westgermania

Author: Werner Abraham

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1983-01-01

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 9027227233

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It has often been noted that Dutch (and Frisian) reflects a particular stage of development between German and English. Phonologically, syntactically and morphologically, Dutch and German are closely related languages. Yet, there remain sufficient morphosyntactic differences in terms of language development. The contributions of this collection focus on the relationships and differences of these neighbouring West Germanic languages.

Narrow Syntax and Phonological Form
Narrow Syntax and Phonological Form

Author: Gema Chocano

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9789027233738

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'Scrambling', the kind of word order variation found in West Germanic languages, has been commonly treated as a phenomenon completely unrelated to North Germanic 'Object Shift'. This book questions this view and defends a unified analysis on the basis of strictly syntactic and phonological evidence. Given that its main conclusions are drawn from German data, it also sheds light on several problematic aspects of the grammar of this language, which have traditionally resisted a principled account. Prominent among these are: the inconsistent behaviour of German coherent infinitives with respect to extraction of their internal arguments; the existence of a less 'liberal' type of 'Scrambling' within topicalised VPs; the link between reordering possibilities and headfinalness; the asymmetry exhibited by monotransitive and ditransitive structures with respect to the interaction between 'Scrambling' and the unmarked word order, and, finally, certain anomalies in the reordering of the lower arguments of ditransitive predicates that assign inherent case.

Studies on Old High German Syntax
Studies on Old High German Syntax

Author: Katrin Axel

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2007-07-19

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 9027291985

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This monograph is the first book-length study on Old High German syntax from a generative perspective in twenty years. It provides an in-depth exploration of the Old High German pre-verb-second grammar by answering the following questions: To what extent did generalized verb movement exist in Old High German? Was there already obligatory XP-movement to the left periphery in declarative root clauses? What deviations from the linear verb-second restriction are attested and what do such phenomena reveal about the structure of the left sentence periphery? Did verb placement play the same role in sentence typing as in the modern verb-second languages? A further major topic is null subjects: It is claimed that Old High German was a partial pro-drop language. All these issues are addressed from a comparative-diachronic perspective by integrating research on other Old Germanic languages, in particular on Old English and Gothic. This book is of interest to all those working in the fields of comparative Germanic syntax and historical linguistics.

The Germanic Languages
The Germanic Languages

Author: Ekkehard Konig

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-12-16

Total Pages: 648

ISBN-13: 1317799585

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Provides a unique, up-to-date survey of twelve Germanic languages from English and German to Faroese and Yiddish.

The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics
The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics

Author: Michael T. Putnam

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-04-16

Total Pages: 1176

ISBN-13: 1108386350

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The first comprehensive overview of the structure of modern Germanic languages. Written by a team of internationally-renowned experts, it is a vital resource for students and researchers investigating the Germanic family of languages and dialects, covering key topics such as phonology, morphology, syntax, heritage and minority languages.

A Contrastive Grammar of Brazilian Pomeranian
A Contrastive Grammar of Brazilian Pomeranian

Author: Gertjan Postma

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2019-03-15

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 9027263531

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Pomeranian is the West Germanic language spoken by European emigrants who went from Farther Pomerania (present-day Poland) to Brazil in the period 1857–1887. This language is no longer spoken in cohesive societies in Europe, but the language has survived and is in remarkably good shape on this language island in the tropical state of Espirito Santo. This monograph offers the first synchronic grammar of this language. After a historical introduction, the book offers a systematic description of its phonology, morphology and syntax. The language is contrasted with its European sisters, more particularly High German, Dutch, and Frisian. It highlights various phenomena that will presumably contribute to the ongoing theoretical debate on the Germanic verbal system. It provides new data on cluster V2, do-support, and the two infinitives. As to the infinitival syntax, the language shows remarkable parallels to the system of Frisian. As to the rich Pomeranian system of subtractive morphology, the phonological account that is offered, will be important for the ongoing discussion of the abstractness of phonological representations. Finally, Pomeranian is a welcome addition to the set of languages on which our etymological understanding of West Germanic is based.

Germanic Heritage Languages in North America
Germanic Heritage Languages in North America

Author: Janne Bondi Johannessen

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2015-08-15

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 9027268193

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This book presents new empirical findings about Germanic heritage varieties spoken in North America: Dutch, German, Pennsylvania Dutch, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, West Frisian and Yiddish, and varieties of English spoken both by heritage speakers and in communities after language shift. The volume focuses on three critical issues underlying the notion of ‘heritage language’: acquisition, attrition and change. The book offers theoretically-informed discussions of heritage language processes across phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics and the lexicon, in addition to work on sociolinguistics, historical linguistics and contact settings. With this, the volume also includes a variety of frameworks and approaches, synchronic and diachronic. Most European Germanic languages share some central linguistic features, such as V2, gender and agreement in the nominal system, and verb inflection. As minority languages faced with a majority language like English, similarities and differences emerge in patterns of variation and change in these heritage languages. These empirical findings shed new light on mechanisms and processes.