| ROA: | 501 |
|---|---|
| Title: | Dialectal Variation in German 3-Verb Clusters. Looking for the best analysis |
| Authors: | Ralf Vogel |
| Comment: | to be published in a joint issue of the 'UCLA Working Papers in Linguistics' and 'Linguistik in Potsdam' on head movement. |
| Length: | 31 |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on a comparison of minimalist and OT syntactic analyses of the syntax of 3-verb clusters in German and their dialectal typology. It is based on the prelimiary results of an ongoing empirical investigation by Tanja Schmid and Ralf Vogel, and their OT account of the phenomenon. The main point of the paper is that the 'best' analysis of German 3-verb clusters is a solution that directly targets the surface form, PF. The linearisation of the verbs in a 3-verb cluster is not only determined by syntactic constraints, but also by semantic (in particular, constraints on focus realisation) and prosodic constraints. These constraints interact in a competition that has pure PFs as candidates. The paper also shows that 'PF movement', which has become quite popular in recent minimalist literature, can be kept 'under control' quite nicely in an OT setting. |
| Type: | Paper/tech report |
| Area/Keywords: | Syntax |
| Article: | Version 1 |