Volume 14, Issue 3

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of word order variation in presentative sentences such as “There are no ghettoes in Brussels”: in specific contexts, the adjunct can precede the subject in this sentence type (). I will demonstrate that a satisfactory account of this variation requires a multifactorial approach on the intersection between Cognitive Linguistics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, no matter how difficult the cross-fertilization of these disciplines is. The data reveal that word order in presentative sentences is co-determined by general motivations (Informational Prominence and Heaviness) as well as by a local constraint (Adjunct Concreteness) motivated by the constructional function of the er-initial template.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/NEDTAA2009.3.DISC407
2009-12-01
2024-03-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.5117/NEDTAA2009.3.DISC407
Loading

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed