Integrated parentheticals and assertional complements
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Markus Steinbach
Abstract
German has three different kinds of verb-first integrated parentheticals (VIPs), which differ from other kinds of parentheticals in several respects: (i) VIPs have verb-first order; (ii) they form one focus-background-structure with their host; (iii) the proposition expressed by the host is linked to the implicit propositional argument of the parenthetical predicate; (iv) VIP-constructions are hybrid structures with two clauses mutually depending on each other, and (v) declarative VIP-constructions are subject to embedded root restrictions. In this paper, I argue that non-canonical licensing is the basic property of all three kinds of VIPs. Especially property (v) provides an argument against analyses assuming canonical argument linking and topic-drop in declarative VIPs. As a consequence, declarative VIPs turn out to be genuine verb-first structures.
Abstract
German has three different kinds of verb-first integrated parentheticals (VIPs), which differ from other kinds of parentheticals in several respects: (i) VIPs have verb-first order; (ii) they form one focus-background-structure with their host; (iii) the proposition expressed by the host is linked to the implicit propositional argument of the parenthetical predicate; (iv) VIP-constructions are hybrid structures with two clauses mutually depending on each other, and (v) declarative VIP-constructions are subject to embedded root restrictions. In this paper, I argue that non-canonical licensing is the basic property of all three kinds of VIPs. Especially property (v) provides an argument against analyses assuming canonical argument linking and topic-drop in declarative VIPs. As a consequence, declarative VIPs turn out to be genuine verb-first structures.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Parentheticals 1
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SYNTAX AND ITS INTERFACES
- Spoken parenthetical clauses in English 25
- Integrated parentheticals and assertional complements 53
- The complement of reduced parentheticals 89
- Long extraction or parenthetical insertion? Evidence from judgement studies 121
- And -parenthetical clauses 145
- On the syntax and semantics of appositive relative clauses 173
- Invisible constituents? Parentheticals as b-merged adverbial phrases 203
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SEMANTICS/PRAGMATICS AND THEIR INTERFACES
- Reduced parenthetical clauses in Romance languages: A pragmatic typology 237
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PROSODY AND ITS INTERFACES
- The relation between syntactic and prosodic parenthesis 261
- Quieter, faster, lower, and set off by pauses? Reflections on prosodic aspects of parenthetical constructions in modern German 285
- Name Index 309
- Subject Index 311
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Parentheticals 1
-
SYNTAX AND ITS INTERFACES
- Spoken parenthetical clauses in English 25
- Integrated parentheticals and assertional complements 53
- The complement of reduced parentheticals 89
- Long extraction or parenthetical insertion? Evidence from judgement studies 121
- And -parenthetical clauses 145
- On the syntax and semantics of appositive relative clauses 173
- Invisible constituents? Parentheticals as b-merged adverbial phrases 203
-
SEMANTICS/PRAGMATICS AND THEIR INTERFACES
- Reduced parenthetical clauses in Romance languages: A pragmatic typology 237
-
PROSODY AND ITS INTERFACES
- The relation between syntactic and prosodic parenthesis 261
- Quieter, faster, lower, and set off by pauses? Reflections on prosodic aspects of parenthetical constructions in modern German 285
- Name Index 309
- Subject Index 311
