Where is syntactic variation?
-
Sjef Barbiers
Abstract
This paper discusses the consequences of some major recent developments in syntactic variation research: (i) the shift from a macro-comparative to a micro-comparative approach; (ii) the use of dialectological, sociolinguistic and theoretical methods to collect dialect syntax data; (iii) the rapidly increasing on-line availability of large amounts of data on large amounts of dialects; (iv) the hypothesis in minimalist generative grammar that there is no cross-linguistic variation in the syntactic module of the mental grammar and that all syntactic variation is reducible to other linguistic and non-linguistic levels. A brief overview is provided of the micro-comparative syntactic research infrastructure that has been built up in recent years. To demonstrate the usability of the available data and the minimalist hypothesis, the paper concentrates on the highly pervasive but little studied phenomenon of syntactic doubling. It is argued that syntactic doubling is necessary to express semantic relations and that there is much hidden doubling because locally recoverable doubles can and in certain cases must be left silent at the level of phonological spell out. In this way, syntactic doubling is an important source of syntactic variation. Using a model of linguistic variation that includes syntax, other levels of the mental grammar (phonology, semantics, pragmatics), cognition (e.g. memory, thinking), body (e.g. oral tract) and society, the paper then shows which piece of syntactic variation can be reduced to which level of linguistic variation model, thus answering the question of the title.
Abstract
This paper discusses the consequences of some major recent developments in syntactic variation research: (i) the shift from a macro-comparative to a micro-comparative approach; (ii) the use of dialectological, sociolinguistic and theoretical methods to collect dialect syntax data; (iii) the rapidly increasing on-line availability of large amounts of data on large amounts of dialects; (iv) the hypothesis in minimalist generative grammar that there is no cross-linguistic variation in the syntactic module of the mental grammar and that all syntactic variation is reducible to other linguistic and non-linguistic levels. A brief overview is provided of the micro-comparative syntactic research infrastructure that has been built up in recent years. To demonstrate the usability of the available data and the minimalist hypothesis, the paper concentrates on the highly pervasive but little studied phenomenon of syntactic doubling. It is argued that syntactic doubling is necessary to express semantic relations and that there is much hidden doubling because locally recoverable doubles can and in certain cases must be left silent at the level of phonological spell out. In this way, syntactic doubling is an important source of syntactic variation. Using a model of linguistic variation that includes syntax, other levels of the mental grammar (phonology, semantics, pragmatics), cognition (e.g. memory, thinking), body (e.g. oral tract) and society, the paper then shows which piece of syntactic variation can be reduced to which level of linguistic variation model, thus answering the question of the title.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Where is syntactic variation? 1
- Phonological variation in Catalan and Alemannic from a typological perspective 27
- Language ideologies and language attitudes 45
- Late language acquisition and identity construction 57
- The variation of gender agreement on numerals in the Alpine space 69
- ‘Standard usage’ 83
- Code alternation patterns in bilingual family conversations 117
- A variationist approach to syntactic change 129
- Children’s switching/shifting competence in role-playing 145
- The Present Perfect in Cypriot Greek revisited 159
- Chain shifts revisited 173
- And the beat goes on 187
- Migrant teenagers’ acquisition of sociolinguistic variation 201
- The sociophonology and sociophonetics of Scottish Standard English (r) 215
- Stance and code-switching 229
- A town between dialects 247
- Variation of sibilants in Belarusian-Russian mixed speech 267
- The case of [nən] 281
- Index 295
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Where is syntactic variation? 1
- Phonological variation in Catalan and Alemannic from a typological perspective 27
- Language ideologies and language attitudes 45
- Late language acquisition and identity construction 57
- The variation of gender agreement on numerals in the Alpine space 69
- ‘Standard usage’ 83
- Code alternation patterns in bilingual family conversations 117
- A variationist approach to syntactic change 129
- Children’s switching/shifting competence in role-playing 145
- The Present Perfect in Cypriot Greek revisited 159
- Chain shifts revisited 173
- And the beat goes on 187
- Migrant teenagers’ acquisition of sociolinguistic variation 201
- The sociophonology and sociophonetics of Scottish Standard English (r) 215
- Stance and code-switching 229
- A town between dialects 247
- Variation of sibilants in Belarusian-Russian mixed speech 267
- The case of [nən] 281
- Index 295
