Grammaticalization Paths of English and High German Existential Constructions - A Corpus-based Study (Paperback, New edition)

Existential constructions are a fundamental feature of many Indo-European languages, and constructions with non-referential subjects have developed in all of the latter, albeit at different stages in their histories. High German does not feature a prototypical existential construction that is equivalent in syntactic and pragmatic function and semantic meaning to the English existential there-construction. How did a prototypical existential structure originate in English? Why is it that High German has never developed such a construction? Has it ever shown a tendency towards developing one? How did two closely related languages such as English and High German come to differ so much with respect to these constructions? By means of investigating a variety of historical and contemporary data this study shows that not only semantic, pragmatic and syntactic factors are involved, which decide the choice of a certain construction, but also very much the more general different linguistic development that the two languages underwent in the course of time.

General

Imprint:	Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Country of origin:	Switzerland
Series:	Europaeische Hochschulschriften / European University Studies / Publications Universitaires Europeennes, 345
Release date:	June 2009
First published:	2009
Authors:	Simone E Pfenninger
Dimensions:	220 x 150 x 25mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	369
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-3-03-430021-6
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literary & linguistic reference works > General Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Historical & comparative linguistics > General Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > Classical, early & medieval Promotions
LSN:	3-03-430021-2
Barcode:	9783034300216

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