Edited by Kersti Börjars, David Denison and Alan K. Scott
The analysis of constructions denoting possession (particularly, but not exclusively, in English) has long presented a challenge to morpho-syntactic theory and has been a topic of debate for some time. The papers presented here afford thought-provoking insights into the morphosyntactic nature of… read more
The development of the English auxiliary do is a well-studied phenomenon, but there is no agreement on its source (see Denison 1993: Chapter 10). It has been suggested in the literature that a mono-causal account cannot satisfactorily capture the development (e.g., Fischer et al. 2017; Van der… read more
In this paper we investigate one aspect of the factors that govern the choice in expression of possession in English between the possessive ’s (poss-s), and the of-construction (poss-of). We are particularly interested in the categorization of the poss-s as a clitic or an affix. Since the key… read more
The development from an allative preposition to a purposive marker to an infinitival marker is a common one cross-linguistically. In this paper, we look in some detail at this change in Pennsylvania German. We demonstrate that fer has completed this change in that it now occurs in a full range of… read more
Suppletion is a phenomenon which is unique to morphology. It represents extreme non-iconicity in the relation between form and function. Here we deal with what we call proper suppletion, i.e. where one paradigm has resulted from the interaction of two previous paradigms. Our aim is to establish… read more
The English possessive ’s (POSSLS) is widely regarded as a clitic which attaches at the right edge of noun phrases. The so-called “group genitive”, where POSSLS attaches after a postmodifier (the man in the corner’s hat), is crucial to theoretical accounts. We evaluate both theoretical and… read more
The focus of this paper is the role of theory for the understanding of linguistic change. We argue that ‘formal’ and ‘functional’ should not be seen as two incompatible ways of viewing linguistic data, but as necessary aspects of any linguistic theory. We consider how theories which are formal, but… read more
