On the interaction between syntax, prosody and information structure
-
Roland Hinterhölzl
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that the distinction between OV and VO word orders should not be accounted for by a distinction in the base. More specifically, I argue that this distinction can be reduced to the workings of two parallel interface conditions that define the optimal mapping from syntax to PF and from syntax to LF, respectively. I discuss how mixed OV/VO orders in Old High German and Old English can be accounted for in this framework and then lay out the historical conditions and the possible grammatical factors that made English develop into a PF-transparent VO language and German into a scope-transparent OV language.
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that the distinction between OV and VO word orders should not be accounted for by a distinction in the base. More specifically, I argue that this distinction can be reduced to the workings of two parallel interface conditions that define the optimal mapping from syntax to PF and from syntax to LF, respectively. I discuss how mixed OV/VO orders in Old High German and Old English can be accounted for in this framework and then lay out the historical conditions and the possible grammatical factors that made English develop into a PF-transparent VO language and German into a scope-transparent OV language.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Information structure and syntax in old Germanic and Romance languages 1
-
Part I. Information-structural categories and corpus annotation
- The theoretical foundations of givenness annotation 17
- Testing the theory 53
-
Part II. Changes on the interface between syntax and information structure
- Quantifying information structure change in English 81
- Tracing overlap in function in historical corpora 111
- Referential properties of the full and reduced forms of the definite article in German 141
- The cognitive status of null subject referents in Old Norse and their Modern Norwegian counterparts 173
-
Part III. Comparisons on the interface between syntax and information structure
- Word order variation in late Middle English 203
- Preverbal word order in Old English and Old French 233
- Formal properties of event-reporting sentences in Old High German and Old French 271
- Subjects and objects in Germanic and Romance 295
- Object position and Heavy NP Shift in Old Saxon and beyond 313
- On the interaction between syntax, prosody and information structure 341
- Contrastivity and information structure in the old Ibero-Romance languages 377
- Index of languages 413
- Databases and annotation schemes 415
- Word index 417
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Information structure and syntax in old Germanic and Romance languages 1
-
Part I. Information-structural categories and corpus annotation
- The theoretical foundations of givenness annotation 17
- Testing the theory 53
-
Part II. Changes on the interface between syntax and information structure
- Quantifying information structure change in English 81
- Tracing overlap in function in historical corpora 111
- Referential properties of the full and reduced forms of the definite article in German 141
- The cognitive status of null subject referents in Old Norse and their Modern Norwegian counterparts 173
-
Part III. Comparisons on the interface between syntax and information structure
- Word order variation in late Middle English 203
- Preverbal word order in Old English and Old French 233
- Formal properties of event-reporting sentences in Old High German and Old French 271
- Subjects and objects in Germanic and Romance 295
- Object position and Heavy NP Shift in Old Saxon and beyond 313
- On the interaction between syntax, prosody and information structure 341
- Contrastivity and information structure in the old Ibero-Romance languages 377
- Index of languages 413
- Databases and annotation schemes 415
- Word index 417
