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In:The Diachrony of Word Class Peripheries
Edited by Tanja Ackermann and Christian Zimmer
[Studies in Language Companion Series 238] 2025
► pp. 184–205

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Chapter 8
A diachronic perspective on peripheral verbs in German

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Published online: 7 November 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.238.08ack
Abstract
This chapter is concerned with specific types of morphologically complex verbs in German, e.g., verbs with multiple (separable or inseparable) verbal prefixes (like auf-er-stehen ‘to resurge’). Many of these cannot be used in the second position in main clauses in contemporary German, which sets them apart from the vast majority of verbs. In our study, we examine the extent to which such positional restrictions may change over time. To this end, a sample of eight complex verbs covering different word formation types is analysed in detail from a diachronic perspective (17th to 20th centuries) using corpus data. The syntactic behaviour of most verbs has changed during the period under investigation, as they gain more positional flexibility over time. In this process, certain phases in a verb’s development can be identified. Against this backdrop, we discuss whether and what kind of implicational scales can be used to describe such changes.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Non-V2 verbs in present-day German
  • 3.Implicational scales and language change
  • 4.Case study on the diachrony of selected complex verbs
    • 4.1Corpus study and selection of lexemes
    • 4.2Results
  • 5.Summary and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
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Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

von Mengden, Ferdinand
2025. Peripheral members of a peripheral class. In The Diachrony of Word Class Peripheries [Studies in Language Companion Series, 238], ► pp. 126 ff. DOI logo

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