Topic Drop and Null Subjects in German:

This monograph deals with argument drop in the German prefield. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the book. Chapter 2 focuses on topic drop of structurally vs. obliquely cased arguments. The question by which factors structural and oblique cases can be kept apart is discussed in great detail. It is cla...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Trutkowski, Ewa 1974- (Author)
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Berlin ;Boston De Gruyter [2016]
Series:Linguistics & Philosophy 6
Subjects:
Online Access:DE-12
DE-1043
DE-1046
DE-859
DE-860
DE-473
DE-355
DE-739
DE-858
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Summary:This monograph deals with argument drop in the German prefield. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the book. Chapter 2 focuses on topic drop of structurally vs. obliquely cased arguments. The question by which factors structural and oblique cases can be kept apart is discussed in great detail. It is claimed that oblique case marking is the spell-out of a certain semantic content, namely an actant’s involvement within a complex event, which needs to be represented at the surface – this, however, is impossible under ellipsis. Thus, the gap’s content must be reconstructed via identity with its antecedent. In chapter 3, I show that parts of the gap resulting from topic drop can be bound under predicate identity (in the sense of semantic equivalence) in context and target. In dependence of whether the binder of (the bindee part of) the gap is referential or not, identity between antecedent and gap is obligatory (or not). Chapter 4 is an investigation of 1st/2nd (vs. 3rd) person referential null subjects that can be dropped independently of the presence of a discourse antecedent and despite apparent syncretisms within verbal inflectional paradigms. As is shown, German out of the blue-drop is neither topic drop nor diary drop, but an instance of inflection-dependent subject omission
Item Description:Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed Mar. 30, 2016)
Physical Description:1 online resource (257pages)
ISBN:9783110446173
9783110444131
DOI:10.1515/9783110446173

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