Describing and modeling variation in grammar / edited by Andreas Dufter, Jurg Fleischer, Guido Seiler.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Dufter, Andreas.

Fleischer, Jürg.

Seiler, Guido.

Series:

Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs ; 204.

Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs, 1861-4302 ; 204

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language and languages--Variation.

Language and languages.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Sociolinguistics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (418 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; New York : Mouton de Gruyter, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

While variation within individual languages has traditionally been focused upon in sociolinguistics, its relevance for grammatical theory has only recently been acknowledged. On the methodological side, there is an ongoing competition between large-scale statistical analyses and investigations that rely more heavily on introspection and elicited grammaticality judgements. The aim of this volume is to bridge the 'cultural gap' between empirical-variationist and formal-theoretical approaches in linguistics. The volume offers case studies that seek to combine corpus-based and competence-based approaches to the description of variation. In doing so, it opens up new avenues for locating and analyzing variability, both at the level of the individual speaker and between speakers of different dialects and generations. The contributions document the plurality of current research into models of grammatical competence that live up to the challenge of variationist data. More specifically, parameter-based (e.g. Minimalist), constraint-based (e.g. Optimality Theoretic), and usage-based (e.g. Construction Grammar) approaches to variation are discussed. The volume therefore is of interest to a broad public within linguistics, including syntacticians of different theoretical persuasion, morphologists and sociolinguists. While a majority of contributions addresses facets of variation in English and German, the volume also includes variationist studies written by specialists of French, Dutch, Icelandic, and Uralic.

Contents:

Introduction / Andreas Dufter, Jurg Fleischer and Guido Seiler

Parameter-based and minimalist approaches

Methodological considerations on grammar variation: the right periphery as an OV/VO deciding parameter more so than the left periphery: gradience in the verb cluster / Werner Abraham

Variation as lexical choice: have, got and the expression of possession / Faye Chalcraft

Variation in Icelandic morphosyntax / Thorhallur Eythorsson and Johannes Gisli Jonsson

Constraint-based approaches

The predicative as a source of grammatical variation / Judith Berman

Morphological variation: a declarative approach / Martin Neef

Different notions of variation and their reflexes in Swiss German relativization / Martin Salzmann

From documentation to grammatical description: prepositional phrases in Ruhrdeutsch / Rene Schiering

Usage-based, construction-based and statistical approaches

Can we factor out free choice? / Bert Cappelle

Empirical syntax: idiolectal variability in two- and three-verb clusters in regional standard Dutch and Dutch dialects / Leonie Cornips

Towards a multivariate model of grammar: the case of word order variation in Dutch clause final verb clusters / Gert de Sutter

Transplanted dialects and language change: question formation in Quebec / Martin Elsig and Shana Poplack

Agreement in English dialects / Verena Haser and Bernd Kortmann

Semi-modal variation / Katarina Klein

Variation in Komi object marking / Gerson Klumpp

How lexicalization reflected in hyphenation affects variation and word-formation / Britta Mondorf

Variation in German adjective inflection: a corpus study / Said Sahel.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612296574

9781282296572

1282296574

9783111737744

3111737748

9783110216097

3110216094

OCLC:

456187670