Inner-sentential Propositional Proforms: Syntactic properties and interpretative effects(232 Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today)

This book deals with sentential proforms and their relationship to their associated clauses. Sentential proforms are highly interesting from the point of view of grammatical theory, since their occurrence is determined not only by syntax, but also by prosody and semantics. The present volume contributes to a better understanding of the interfaces between these different levels. By providing syntactic, prosodic, semantic, psycholinguistic and corpus-based support, this book underpins the claim that there exist different sentential proform types in German and Dutch, that these proform types correlate with different verb classes, and that their associated related clauses are located in different syntactic positions. The present volume also looks at a Hungarian sentential proform construction, which is similar to the German(ic) structure, but, at the same time, is different in its licensing conditions.

Table of Contents:
1. Sentential proforms: An overview (by Schwabe, Kerstin); 2. Correlates of object clauses in German and Dutch (by Sudhoff, Stefan); 3. Correlative es vs. das in German: An empirical perspective (by Axel-Tober, Katrin); 4. On properties differentiating constructions with inner-sentential pro-forms for clauses (by Frey, Werner); 5. Some distinctions in the right periphery of the German clause (by Truckenbrodt, Hubert); 6. Phonological, morphosyntactic and semantic properties of es (by Zimmermann, Ilse); 7. On the formation of prepositional adverbs in Modern German: A case study on darunter (by Nolda, Andreas); 8. Sentential proforms and argument conditionals (by Schwabe, Kerstin); 9. Rethinking clausal asymmetries: Propositional pronoun insertion in Hungarian (by Brandtler, Johan); 10. Name Index; 11. Subject Index

Review :
Not only for Germanists – this collection makes accessible to a wider audience state-of-the art thinking on the intricate puzzles of German sentential pro-forms. If you are interested in the phenomenon from a syntactic, semantic or prosodic angle, you cannot avoid this book. For years, so-called correlates in German have presented a challenge to linguistic analysis, empirically and theoretically. What exactly are the conditions that trigger or block their occurrence? Is a correlate always one and the same thing? What kind of structure should be assigned to complex sentences containing an embedded clause with a correlate? Do we find similar phenomena in other languages? Written by eminent experts in their respective fields, the contributions offer convincing answers to central questions, based on new comprehensive empirical data and sophisticated theoretic thinking. In short: this is a “must read” for anybody interested in German correlates and related phenomena. Sentential pro-forms or correlates are at the core of the mechanisms that establish syntactic complexity. Various word order phenomena cannot be captured if the role of these elements or their silent counterparts is not well understood. The topic is a classic, and it recurs with every move of linguistic theory. In the present collection it is in the hands of a team of leading experts who are known for their integrative work on clause structure bringing syntax, semantics, prosodic phonology and new empirical methodologies together.