The Syntax of German

by Hubert Haider

Overview

What do you know, if you know that a language has 'Object Verb' structure rather than 'Verb Object'? Answering this question and many others, this book provides an essential guide to the syntactic structure of German. It examines the systematic differences between German and English, which follow from this basic difference in sentence structure, and presents the main results of syntactic research on German. Topics covered include the strict word order in VO vs word order variation in OV, verb clustering, clause union effects, obligatory functional subject position, and subject-object asymmetries for extractions. Through this, a cross-model and cross-linguistic comparison evolves, highlighting the immediate implications for non-Germanic OV languages, and creating a detailed and comprehensive description of the syntactic differences that immediately follow from an OV type in contrast with a VO type like English. It will be of interest to all those interested in syntax and Germanic languages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009289450
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/25/2022
Series:	Cambridge Syntax Guides
Pages:	385
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.86(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Hubert Haider is Professor in Linguistics at the University of Salzburg. He has worked in Germany, the USA, Norway, Sweden, Japan and Morocco and his previous publications include Deutsche Syntax, Generativ – Vorstudien zur Theorie einer projektiven Grammatik (1993).

Table of Contents

Foreword; Abbreviations; List of tables and figures; 1. A comparative survey: German – V2 and partially 'OV'; 2. The functional architecture of a German clause – facts and controversies; 3. Targeting the clause initial position - German wh-constructions; 4. Targeting left: clause internal word order and word order variation; 5. Targeting the right edge – extraposition; 6. Case: a nominative-accusative language with a four way case paradigm; 7. Non-finite verbs and their constructions; References.