Doris Penka
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199567263
- eISBN:
- 9780191723261
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567263.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
This exploration of the syntax-semantics interface is concerned with negative indefinites like English ‘nobody’, ‘nothing’, etc. and their counterparts in other languages. A cross-linguistically ...
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This exploration of the syntax-semantics interface is concerned with negative indefinites like English ‘nobody’, ‘nothing’, etc. and their counterparts in other languages. A cross-linguistically unified analysis is proposed and applied to several languages. While negative indefinites are standardly assumed to be semantically negative quantifiers, this work argues for a different analysis. It is motivated by three phenomena, which negative indefinites give rise to in different languages and which are unexpected under the negative quantifier analysis. The first, negative concord, has been widely discussed in both semantic and syntactic literature. The fact that in many languages negative indefinites can co-occur with other seemingly negative elements without contributing a negation to the semantics motivates the assumption that these expressions are not inherently negative. Following recent work on negative concord, an analysis is elaborated that is based on the assumption that negative indefinites are semantically non-negative and must be licensed by a — possibly covert — negation. This analysis explains the behaviour of negative indefinites in a number of languages. In a next step, this analysis is extended to languages that do not exhibit negative concord. Motivation for this comes from the fact that even in non-negative concord languages, the negative quantifier analysis cannot account for the semantics of negative indefinites. Crucial evidence comes from the existence of split readings, in which another operator takes scope in between the negative and the indefinite meaning component. Moreover, in many languages the distribution of negative indefinites is subject to syntactic restrictions. It is shown how this follows from the proposed analysis and independently motivated syntactic properties.Less
This exploration of the syntax-semantics interface is concerned with negative indefinites like English ‘nobody’, ‘nothing’, etc. and their counterparts in other languages. A cross-linguistically unified analysis is proposed and applied to several languages. While negative indefinites are standardly assumed to be semantically negative quantifiers, this work argues for a different analysis. It is motivated by three phenomena, which negative indefinites give rise to in different languages and which are unexpected under the negative quantifier analysis. The first, negative concord, has been widely discussed in both semantic and syntactic literature. The fact that in many languages negative indefinites can co-occur with other seemingly negative elements without contributing a negation to the semantics motivates the assumption that these expressions are not inherently negative. Following recent work on negative concord, an analysis is elaborated that is based on the assumption that negative indefinites are semantically non-negative and must be licensed by a — possibly covert — negation. This analysis explains the behaviour of negative indefinites in a number of languages. In a next step, this analysis is extended to languages that do not exhibit negative concord. Motivation for this comes from the fact that even in non-negative concord languages, the negative quantifier analysis cannot account for the semantics of negative indefinites. Crucial evidence comes from the existence of split readings, in which another operator takes scope in between the negative and the indefinite meaning component. Moreover, in many languages the distribution of negative indefinites is subject to syntactic restrictions. It is shown how this follows from the proposed analysis and independently motivated syntactic properties.
Doris Penka
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199567263
- eISBN:
- 9780191723261
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567263.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter takes up issues surrounding the licensing relation between negative indefinites and negation. It shows that approaches assuming certain syntactic configurations (e.g., the NEG criterion ...
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This chapter takes up issues surrounding the licensing relation between negative indefinites and negation. It shows that approaches assuming certain syntactic configurations (e.g., the NEG criterion by Haegeman and Zanuttini (1991)) or a semantic licensing relation (in the style of Ladusaw (1992) or using Hamblin alternatives) face problems once the kind of data crucial for the analysis of negative indefinites in German is taken into account. The chapter also discusses the distribution of different indefinite series in negative contexts. It argues that in many languages, general indefinites and negative polarity indefinites cannot occur in contexts in which negative indefinites are licensed due to morphological blocking.Less
This chapter takes up issues surrounding the licensing relation between negative indefinites and negation. It shows that approaches assuming certain syntactic configurations (e.g., the NEG criterion by Haegeman and Zanuttini (1991)) or a semantic licensing relation (in the style of Ladusaw (1992) or using Hamblin alternatives) face problems once the kind of data crucial for the analysis of negative indefinites in German is taken into account. The chapter also discusses the distribution of different indefinite series in negative contexts. It argues that in many languages, general indefinites and negative polarity indefinites cannot occur in contexts in which negative indefinites are licensed due to morphological blocking.
Doris Penka
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199567263
- eISBN:
- 9780191723261
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567263.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter gives a brief summary of the analysis and the typology of negative indefinites in the languages discussed. Some consequences of the analysis are suggested.
This chapter gives a brief summary of the analysis and the typology of negative indefinites in the languages discussed. Some consequences of the analysis are suggested.
Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199687282
- eISBN:
- 9780191767050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687282.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This chapter studies the patterns of interaction between negation markers and indefinites, and diachronic changes affecting this interaction. The chapter demonstrates that Old Low German in ...
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This chapter studies the patterns of interaction between negation markers and indefinites, and diachronic changes affecting this interaction. The chapter demonstrates that Old Low German in particular represents a type of interaction that has hardly been noticed so far in the literature, viz. the fact that there can be languages such as Old Low German with a negative head, but without negative concord. Negative concord is shown to only develop during the Old Low German period. It is furthermore argued that ‘negative concord’ (i.e. the multiple expression of negation with single semantic negation) should only refer to standard negators. This implies that Middle Low German had no negative doubling. The present chapter statistically analyses the language-internal and language-external factors influencing (a) the variation in the use of n-marked indefinites in the Heliand and (b) the language-internal and language-external factors influencing the loss of ‘ne/en’ in Middle Low German.Less
This chapter studies the patterns of interaction between negation markers and indefinites, and diachronic changes affecting this interaction. The chapter demonstrates that Old Low German in particular represents a type of interaction that has hardly been noticed so far in the literature, viz. the fact that there can be languages such as Old Low German with a negative head, but without negative concord. Negative concord is shown to only develop during the Old Low German period. It is furthermore argued that ‘negative concord’ (i.e. the multiple expression of negation with single semantic negation) should only refer to standard negators. This implies that Middle Low German had no negative doubling. The present chapter statistically analyses the language-internal and language-external factors influencing (a) the variation in the use of n-marked indefinites in the Heliand and (b) the language-internal and language-external factors influencing the loss of ‘ne/en’ in Middle Low German.
Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602537
- eISBN:
- 9780191758164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602537.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter looks at the progress of Jespersen’s cycle in Low German and Dutch, tracing the emergence of a new marker of negation (nicht, niet) replacing earlier preverbal ni/ne/en and the very slow ...
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This chapter looks at the progress of Jespersen’s cycle in Low German and Dutch, tracing the emergence of a new marker of negation (nicht, niet) replacing earlier preverbal ni/ne/en and the very slow process by which the original marker fell out of use. It also considers issues in language contact and variation within Low German and Dutch, including discussion of dialects, such as West Flemish, where the original marker of negation survives, in a new function, to this day. With negative indefinites, negative concord is lost in the shift from Old Low German (Old Saxon) to Middle Low German as Jespersen’s cycle proceeds.Less
This chapter looks at the progress of Jespersen’s cycle in Low German and Dutch, tracing the emergence of a new marker of negation (nicht, niet) replacing earlier preverbal ni/ne/en and the very slow process by which the original marker fell out of use. It also considers issues in language contact and variation within Low German and Dutch, including discussion of dialects, such as West Flemish, where the original marker of negation survives, in a new function, to this day. With negative indefinites, negative concord is lost in the shift from Old Low German (Old Saxon) to Middle Low German as Jespersen’s cycle proceeds.
Doris Penka
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199567263
- eISBN:
- 9780191723261
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567263.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter lays the ground for the following discussion by introducing central concepts such as negative indefinites, sentential negation, and constituent negation. It also provides background on ...
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This chapter lays the ground for the following discussion by introducing central concepts such as negative indefinites, sentential negation, and constituent negation. It also provides background on the syntactic and semantic framework in which the book is couched, and gives an outline of the following chapters.Less
This chapter lays the ground for the following discussion by introducing central concepts such as negative indefinites, sentential negation, and constituent negation. It also provides background on the syntactic and semantic framework in which the book is couched, and gives an outline of the following chapters.
David Willis
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602537
- eISBN:
- 9780191758164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602537.003.0009
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
While Slavonic languages have been conservative in their expression of sentential negation, retaining the inherited marker ne, there has been much change in other aspects of the system. This chapter ...
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While Slavonic languages have been conservative in their expression of sentential negation, retaining the inherited marker ne, there has been much change in other aspects of the system. This chapter looks at some of these areas, focusing in particular on the general decline in the requirement that objects in the scope of negation are genitive (genitive of negation) and its interaction with existential clauses, the frequent renewal of negative indefinites, above all by former free-choice items and free-relative markers, and the increasing generalization of strict negative concord.Less
While Slavonic languages have been conservative in their expression of sentential negation, retaining the inherited marker ne, there has been much change in other aspects of the system. This chapter looks at some of these areas, focusing in particular on the general decline in the requirement that objects in the scope of negation are genitive (genitive of negation) and its interaction with existential clauses, the frequent renewal of negative indefinites, above all by former free-choice items and free-relative markers, and the increasing generalization of strict negative concord.
David Willis, Christopher Lucas, and Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602537
- eISBN:
- 9780191758164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602537.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter provides an overview of the typical pathways for the development of negation, focusing on the languages of Europe and the Mediterranean. It considers the frequency and causes of ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the typical pathways for the development of negation, focusing on the languages of Europe and the Mediterranean. It considers the frequency and causes of Jespersen’s cycle, the emergence of new markers of negation from emphatic constructions that eventually come to replace the original marker of negation. It looks at the sources of new negative markers, from minimizers (‘not a bit’) and generalizers (‘not in any possible way’) and at the historical progress of the negative cycle that has occurred in almost every language in western Europe, showing considerable differences in detail despite overall commonality. The chapter also considers how expression of negative indefinites (e.g. ‘nothing, nowhere’) changes over time, including changes in negative concord systems. Common developments here include, for instance, the tendency for items to become more ‘negative’ (the quantifier cycle) and for free-choice items (‘anything you like’) to spread into negative contexts.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the typical pathways for the development of negation, focusing on the languages of Europe and the Mediterranean. It considers the frequency and causes of Jespersen’s cycle, the emergence of new markers of negation from emphatic constructions that eventually come to replace the original marker of negation. It looks at the sources of new negative markers, from minimizers (‘not a bit’) and generalizers (‘not in any possible way’) and at the historical progress of the negative cycle that has occurred in almost every language in western Europe, showing considerable differences in detail despite overall commonality. The chapter also considers how expression of negative indefinites (e.g. ‘nothing, nowhere’) changes over time, including changes in negative concord systems. Common developments here include, for instance, the tendency for items to become more ‘negative’ (the quantifier cycle) and for free-choice items (‘anything you like’) to spread into negative contexts.
Doris Penka
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199567263
- eISBN:
- 9780191723261
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567263.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
In the Scandinavian languages, negative indefinites show a restriction in their distribution to the effect that they have to be adjacent to a position a negative marker can occupy. This chapter shows ...
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In the Scandinavian languages, negative indefinites show a restriction in their distribution to the effect that they have to be adjacent to a position a negative marker can occupy. This chapter shows that this distributional restriction follows from the analysis proposed for German in Chapter 3. It discusses other approaches to negative indefinites in Scandinavian and shows that these are insufficient in the light of split readings that also arise in these languages. The chapter concludes with remarks on the resulting cross-linguistic analysis of negative indefinites and its possible extension to other languages, in particular English.Less
In the Scandinavian languages, negative indefinites show a restriction in their distribution to the effect that they have to be adjacent to a position a negative marker can occupy. This chapter shows that this distributional restriction follows from the analysis proposed for German in Chapter 3. It discusses other approaches to negative indefinites in Scandinavian and shows that these are insufficient in the light of split readings that also arise in these languages. The chapter concludes with remarks on the resulting cross-linguistic analysis of negative indefinites and its possible extension to other languages, in particular English.
Agnes Jager
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602537
- eISBN:
- 9780191758164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602537.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter traces the expression of negation and negative indefinites from Old High German to the present day. In Old High German, sentential negation was expressed by a preverbal negative particle ...
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This chapter traces the expression of negation and negative indefinites from Old High German to the present day. In Old High German, sentential negation was expressed by a preverbal negative particle and there was optional negative concord with negative indefinites. In Middle High German, as in English, the preverbal negator was reinforced and replaced by a new negator, nicht, deriving from a negative indefinite pronoun, and, with negative indefinites, a non-negative-concord grammar emerged, as is the norm in German today.Less
This chapter traces the expression of negation and negative indefinites from Old High German to the present day. In Old High German, sentential negation was expressed by a preverbal negative particle and there was optional negative concord with negative indefinites. In Middle High German, as in English, the preverbal negator was reinforced and replaced by a new negator, nicht, deriving from a negative indefinite pronoun, and, with negative indefinites, a non-negative-concord grammar emerged, as is the norm in German today.
David Willis
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602537
- eISBN:
- 9780191758164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602537.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter sets out the separate but parallel emergence of new markers of negation in Welsh and Breton, Welsh ddim from an earlier indefinite pronoun ‘nothing’ and Breton ket of unknown origin, and ...
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This chapter sets out the separate but parallel emergence of new markers of negation in Welsh and Breton, Welsh ddim from an earlier indefinite pronoun ‘nothing’ and Breton ket of unknown origin, and the subsequent erosion of the former marker of negation nid to a prefix d- in Welsh. Interactions with other areas, such as the loss of true negative imperatives, reorganisation of the system of negative concord, and the trend for indefinites to acquire a negative interpretation are also considered, along with issues in the syntactic reconstruction of Common Celtic and language contact between Welsh and English and Breton and French.Less
This chapter sets out the separate but parallel emergence of new markers of negation in Welsh and Breton, Welsh ddim from an earlier indefinite pronoun ‘nothing’ and Breton ket of unknown origin, and the subsequent erosion of the former marker of negation nid to a prefix d- in Welsh. Interactions with other areas, such as the loss of true negative imperatives, reorganisation of the system of negative concord, and the trend for indefinites to acquire a negative interpretation are also considered, along with issues in the syntactic reconstruction of Common Celtic and language contact between Welsh and English and Breton and French.
Richard Ingham
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602537
- eISBN:
- 9780191758164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602537.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter looks at the emergence of not and -n’t as clausal negators and their replacement of earlier ne in the history of English, charting the spread of not in Middle English and its interaction ...
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This chapter looks at the emergence of not and -n’t as clausal negators and their replacement of earlier ne in the history of English, charting the spread of not in Middle English and its interaction with other aspects of English clause structure. In the indefinite systems, it shows in particular the loss of negative concord in standard English and the variation between negative quantifiers (nothing, never) and any-series items (not…anything and not…ever) in the expression of negation, integrating these observation with current Minimalist analyses of negation and negative concord.Less
This chapter looks at the emergence of not and -n’t as clausal negators and their replacement of earlier ne in the history of English, charting the spread of not in Middle English and its interaction with other aspects of English clause structure. In the indefinite systems, it shows in particular the loss of negative concord in standard English and the variation between negative quantifiers (nothing, never) and any-series items (not…anything and not…ever) in the expression of negation, integrating these observation with current Minimalist analyses of negation and negative concord.
Chiara Gianollo
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- April 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198832584
- eISBN:
- 9780191871115
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198832584.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Theoretical Linguistics
This chapter investigates the sequence of changes leading from the Latin system of negation to the various Romance outcomes. While Classical Latin is a Double Negation language, the earliest Romance ...
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This chapter investigates the sequence of changes leading from the Latin system of negation to the various Romance outcomes. While Classical Latin is a Double Negation language, the earliest Romance varieties show a Negative Concord grammar. In the proposed analysis, this seemingly paradoxical development is explained by situating the prerequisites for Negative Concord already at the Late Latin stage. In Late Latin, a featural and structural reanalysis of the negative marker entails the activation of a projection in the clause where sentential negation has to be identified. This, in turn, triggers the grammaticalization of new negatively marked indefinites licensed in the scope of negation. These indefinites establish a syntactic relation first with the Focus Phrase (as negation strengtheners) and subsequently with the Negation Phrase, yielding a Negative Concord system. This study highlights the importance of generative research on the nature and format of syntactic features for our understanding of diachrony.Less
This chapter investigates the sequence of changes leading from the Latin system of negation to the various Romance outcomes. While Classical Latin is a Double Negation language, the earliest Romance varieties show a Negative Concord grammar. In the proposed analysis, this seemingly paradoxical development is explained by situating the prerequisites for Negative Concord already at the Late Latin stage. In Late Latin, a featural and structural reanalysis of the negative marker entails the activation of a projection in the clause where sentential negation has to be identified. This, in turn, triggers the grammaticalization of new negatively marked indefinites licensed in the scope of negation. These indefinites establish a syntactic relation first with the Focus Phrase (as negation strengtheners) and subsequently with the Negation Phrase, yielding a Negative Concord system. This study highlights the importance of generative research on the nature and format of syntactic features for our understanding of diachrony.
Arja Hamari
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602537
- eISBN:
- 9780191758164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602537.003.0011
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
Negation in Mordvin languages (Erzya and Moksha), as in the Uralic languages more generally, is expressed via negative auxiliaries and has therefore undergone patterns of change radically different ...
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Negation in Mordvin languages (Erzya and Moksha), as in the Uralic languages more generally, is expressed via negative auxiliaries and has therefore undergone patterns of change radically different from those found in western Europe. This chapter examines the sources of the new negative auxiliaries and particles that have developed for different tenses and moods in the Mordvin languages, distinguishing three different periods of innovation, pre-proto-Mordvin, proto-Mordvin, and recent innovations found only in a single Mordvin language.Less
Negation in Mordvin languages (Erzya and Moksha), as in the Uralic languages more generally, is expressed via negative auxiliaries and has therefore undergone patterns of change radically different from those found in western Europe. This chapter examines the sources of the new negative auxiliaries and particles that have developed for different tenses and moods in the Mordvin languages, distinguishing three different periods of innovation, pre-proto-Mordvin, proto-Mordvin, and recent innovations found only in a single Mordvin language.
Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199687282
- eISBN:
- 9780191767050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687282.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This chapter summarises the empirical and theoretical findings of the book and points out their wider significance. The main developments regarding the expression of negation in historical Low German ...
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This chapter summarises the empirical and theoretical findings of the book and points out their wider significance. The main developments regarding the expression of negation in historical Low German are the grammaticalization of a new negator from a negative indefinite (niouuiht > nicht) (Jespersen’s Cycle), the loss of the original negator ne/en (and its exaptation in exceptive clauses as a C-element), and the changing interaction between the expression of sentential negation and indefinites in its scope (negative concord). The wider significance of the book lies in it being the first large-scale diachronic study of the development of negation in historical Low German, both empirically and theoretically. On the theoretical level, a novel proposal was made to treat the development of negative markers in terms of third-factor principles. The grammaticalization stages of negative markers are characterized by different internal structure affecting their external syntax, combined with a Minimalist feature system.Less
This chapter summarises the empirical and theoretical findings of the book and points out their wider significance. The main developments regarding the expression of negation in historical Low German are the grammaticalization of a new negator from a negative indefinite (niouuiht > nicht) (Jespersen’s Cycle), the loss of the original negator ne/en (and its exaptation in exceptive clauses as a C-element), and the changing interaction between the expression of sentential negation and indefinites in its scope (negative concord). The wider significance of the book lies in it being the first large-scale diachronic study of the development of negation in historical Low German, both empirically and theoretically. On the theoretical level, a novel proposal was made to treat the development of negative markers in terms of third-factor principles. The grammaticalization stages of negative markers are characterized by different internal structure affecting their external syntax, combined with a Minimalist feature system.
Ahmad Alqassas
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- July 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780197554883
- eISBN:
- 9780197554920
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197554883.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This book examines polarity sensitivity—a ubiquitous phenomenon involving expressions such as anybody, nobody, ever, never, and somebody and their counterparts in other languages, with particular ...
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This book examines polarity sensitivity—a ubiquitous phenomenon involving expressions such as anybody, nobody, ever, never, and somebody and their counterparts in other languages, with particular focus on Arabic. These expressions belong to different classes such as negative and positive polarity, negative concord, and negative indefinites, which led to examining their syntax and semantics separately. In this book, Ahmad Alqassas pursues a unified approach that relies on examining the interaction between the various types of polarity sensitivity. Treating this interaction is fundamental for scrutinizing their licensing conditions. Alqassas draws on data from Standard Arabic and the major regional dialects represented by Jordanian, Egyptian, Moroccan, and Qatari. The book provides a new perspective on the syntax–semantic interface and develops a unified syntactic analysis for polarity sensitivity. Through the (micro)comparative approach, Alqassas explains the distributional contrasts with a minimal set of universal syntactic operations such as Merge, Move, and Agree, and a fine-grained inventory of negative formal features for polarity items and their licensors. The features are simple invisibles that paint a complex landscape of polarity. The results suggest that syntactic computation of Arabic polarity (externally merged in the left periphery) is subservient to the conceptual–intentional interface. Alqassas argues for last resort insertion of covert negation operators in the CP layer to interpret non-strict NCIs, which is an extra mechanism that serves the semantic interface but adds to the complexity of syntactic computation. Likewise, head NPIs in the left periphery require licensing by operators higher than the tense phrase, adding more constraints on the syntactic licensing.Less
This book examines polarity sensitivity—a ubiquitous phenomenon involving expressions such as anybody, nobody, ever, never, and somebody and their counterparts in other languages, with particular focus on Arabic. These expressions belong to different classes such as negative and positive polarity, negative concord, and negative indefinites, which led to examining their syntax and semantics separately. In this book, Ahmad Alqassas pursues a unified approach that relies on examining the interaction between the various types of polarity sensitivity. Treating this interaction is fundamental for scrutinizing their licensing conditions. Alqassas draws on data from Standard Arabic and the major regional dialects represented by Jordanian, Egyptian, Moroccan, and Qatari. The book provides a new perspective on the syntax–semantic interface and develops a unified syntactic analysis for polarity sensitivity. Through the (micro)comparative approach, Alqassas explains the distributional contrasts with a minimal set of universal syntactic operations such as Merge, Move, and Agree, and a fine-grained inventory of negative formal features for polarity items and their licensors. The features are simple invisibles that paint a complex landscape of polarity. The results suggest that syntactic computation of Arabic polarity (externally merged in the left periphery) is subservient to the conceptual–intentional interface. Alqassas argues for last resort insertion of covert negation operators in the CP layer to interpret non-strict NCIs, which is an extra mechanism that serves the semantic interface but adds to the complexity of syntactic computation. Likewise, head NPIs in the left periphery require licensing by operators higher than the tense phrase, adding more constraints on the syntactic licensing.
Maj-Britt Mosegaard Hansen
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199602537
- eISBN:
- 9780191758164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602537.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter focuses on Jespersen’s cycle and the emergence of pas ‘not’ 〈 ‘step’ as a new marker of negation, considering especially pragmatic constraints on its earlier use (cancellation of ...
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This chapter focuses on Jespersen’s cycle and the emergence of pas ‘not’ 〈 ‘step’ as a new marker of negation, considering especially pragmatic constraints on its earlier use (cancellation of presupposition) and the sociolinguistics of the ongoing replacement of bipartite negation (ne…pas) with single negation (pas) in colloquial French. It also looks at the development of French indefinites, which have become restricted to more negative environments (e.g. rien ‘thing’ 〉 ‘anything’ 〉 ‘nothing’).Less
This chapter focuses on Jespersen’s cycle and the emergence of pas ‘not’ 〈 ‘step’ as a new marker of negation, considering especially pragmatic constraints on its earlier use (cancellation of presupposition) and the sociolinguistics of the ongoing replacement of bipartite negation (ne…pas) with single negation (pas) in colloquial French. It also looks at the development of French indefinites, which have become restricted to more negative environments (e.g. rien ‘thing’ 〉 ‘anything’ 〉 ‘nothing’).