Stating the case for þ - root and hw - root determiners
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Alex Klinge
Abstract
In this article I will show that the existence of coherent classes of determiners based on pan-Germanic þ- and hw- roots, such as English ‘this’ and ‘which’ and German ‘diese’ and ‘welche’, make it necessary to reanalyse the syntactic classes and paradigmatic contrasts in the functional domain of Germanic DPs. It will be argued that the two þ- and hw- morphemes contain procedural semantics which encodes two contrasting ways that a referent may be identified for an index in a propositional form. I will focus on English and German, but reference will also be made to Danish.
As a first step it will be argued that there is no coherent syntactic class of articles. Then I will draw on etymological and comparative data, and on morphological and distributional facts to show that the two morphemes have been remarkably resilient across Germanic languages for more than a thousand years. Finally, I will anchor their resilience in their semantic and pragmatic raison d’être.
Abstract
In this article I will show that the existence of coherent classes of determiners based on pan-Germanic þ- and hw- roots, such as English ‘this’ and ‘which’ and German ‘diese’ and ‘welche’, make it necessary to reanalyse the syntactic classes and paradigmatic contrasts in the functional domain of Germanic DPs. It will be argued that the two þ- and hw- morphemes contain procedural semantics which encodes two contrasting ways that a referent may be identified for an index in a propositional form. I will focus on English and German, but reference will also be made to Danish.
As a first step it will be argued that there is no coherent syntactic class of articles. Then I will draw on etymological and comparative data, and on morphological and distributional facts to show that the two morphemes have been remarkably resilient across Germanic languages for more than a thousand years. Finally, I will anchor their resilience in their semantic and pragmatic raison d’être.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- The editors ix
- Introduction xi
- Determiners and definiteness: Functional semantics and structural differentiation 1
- Articles, definite and indefinite 27
- Typological correlations in nominal determination in Romance 45
- A stranger in the house: The French article de 65
- Determination in endocentric and exocentric languages: With evidence primarily from Danish and Italian 79
- Bare predicate nominals in Romance languages 101
- Definiteness effect and the role of the coda in existential constructions 131
- Determination of N2 modifiers in Spanish nominal syntagmatic compounds 163
- Reference to individuals, person, and the variety of mapping parameters 189
- English th - forms 213
- Stating the case for þ - root and hw - root determiners 233
- On certain differences between noun phrases and clauses 265
- Determination, nominalisation and conceptual processing 287
- The semantics and pragmatics of the possessive determiner 309
- Reference, determiners and descriptive content 337
- Index 365
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- The editors ix
- Introduction xi
- Determiners and definiteness: Functional semantics and structural differentiation 1
- Articles, definite and indefinite 27
- Typological correlations in nominal determination in Romance 45
- A stranger in the house: The French article de 65
- Determination in endocentric and exocentric languages: With evidence primarily from Danish and Italian 79
- Bare predicate nominals in Romance languages 101
- Definiteness effect and the role of the coda in existential constructions 131
- Determination of N2 modifiers in Spanish nominal syntagmatic compounds 163
- Reference to individuals, person, and the variety of mapping parameters 189
- English th - forms 213
- Stating the case for þ - root and hw - root determiners 233
- On certain differences between noun phrases and clauses 265
- Determination, nominalisation and conceptual processing 287
- The semantics and pragmatics of the possessive determiner 309
- Reference, determiners and descriptive content 337
- Index 365
