The Function of Function Words and Functional Categories

This volume brings together papers which address a range of issues regarding the syntax of function words and functional categories in the Germanic languages. The works offered in this volume derive specifically from comparative studies of Germanic; at the same time they all bear directly on long-standing problems in syntactic theory and universal grammar. The contributions include novel theoretical and empirical approaches to infinitives, the syntax and acquisition of Verb Second, the structure and interpretation of present tense, the syntax and semantics of reflexives, the relationship between expletive syntax and the EPP, the syntax of possession, and the DP-internal syntax of pronouns. Some contributions present the results of experimental research which provide an entirely fresh perspective on previously unchallenged claims.

Table of contents

 

Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Function of Function Words and Functional Categories Marcel den Dikken and Christina Tortora
Verb second as a function of Merge Jan-Wouter Zwart
Nonnative acquisition of Verb Second: On the empirical underpinnings of universal L2 claims Ute Bohnacker
Clause Union and Clausal Position Josef Bayer, Tanja Schmid and Markus Bader
Explaining Expl Marc Richards and Theresa Biberauer
Reflexives in contexts of reduced valency: German vs. Dutch Marika Lekakou
Simple Tense Guido Vanden Wyngaerd
Possessor licensing, definiteness and case in Scandinavian Marit Julien
Pronouns are Determiners After All Dorian Roehrs