LINGUIST List 7.874

Tue Jun 11 1996

Books: Germanic Linguistics

Editor for this issue: Ljuba Veselinova <lveselinemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. Paul Peranteau, New Books - Germanic

New Books from John Benjamins


GERMANIC LINGUISTICS


On Extraction and Extraposition in German
Uli Lutz & Juergen Pafel (eds.)

Extraction has traditionally been one of the main topics in generative
grammar, and it retains this status in current variants of the
theory. German provides a good testing ground for traditional as well
as current theories of extraction. The nine contributions to this
volume document the recent lively discussions on the adequate analyses
of extraction constructions, on the impact of extraction on semantic
interpretation, and, above all, on the question of which constructions
are to be analyzed as extractions and which not.Uli Lutz gives an
overview of extraction theory. Marga Reis challenges the standard
analysis of extraction from verb-second clauses and opts for a
parenthetic analysis. Franz d'Avis confronts current approaches to
wh-islands with the facts in German and investigates the semantic
properties of topicalization from wh-clauses. Sigrid Beck derives
various negative island effects from a constraint on Logical
Form. Juergen Pafel relates the differences between two kinds of
extraction from noun phrases to the structure of the noun
phrases. Daniel Buering and Katharina Hartmann argue for the
traditional analysis of extraposition as rightward movement, based on
a detailed comparison with alternative accounts. Gereon Mueller
derives the peculiar restrictions on extraposition from a theory of
improper movement. Hubert Haider defends his analysis of extraposition
as a base-generated construction against his critics. Chris Wilder
develops a minimalist account of extraposition and takes extraposition
and coordination ellipsis to be instances of the same process.

Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 11 xii, 315 pp.
US & Canada:Hb: 1 55619 229 0 US$74.00
Rest of World: 90 272 2731 4 Hfl.130,00


Content, Expression and Structure.
Studies in Danish functional grammar.
Elisabeth ENGBERG-PEDERSEN, et al. (eds)

This collection of papers offers an alternative to mainstream
functional linguistics on two points. Especially in American
linguistics, function and structure are often viewed almost as polar
opposites; in addition, structure is often understood as being only a
matter of linguistic form -- or expression -- as opposed to
content. The book tries to illustrate why function and structure must
be understood as mutually dependent in relation to language -- and why
the most interesting aspect of language structure is the way it
structures the content side of language. In this, the book represents
a reaffirmation of traditional concerns in structural linguistics,
especially with respect to the structural integrity of individual
languages -- but with a reversal of traditional priority: structure is
not autonomous, but must be understood on the basis of
function. Without being hostile to typological and universal
generalizations, the articles suggest that similarities between
languages can only be responsibly discussed on the basis of an
understanding that includes a respect for language differences.The
book contains discussions of a number of different languages including
Nahuatl, Danish Sign Language, French, and Tlapanec, and focuses on
the way meaning is organized in the grammar of Danish. A final section
sums up theoretical perspectives.

Studies in Language Companion Series, No. 29 xvi, 510 pp.
US & Canada:Hb: 1-55619-381-5 US$97.00
Rest of World: 90 272 3032 3 Hfl.170,00


Paul Peranteau (paulbenjamins.com)
John Benjamins searchable ONLINE catalogue:
*via WWW -- gopher://Benjamins.titlenet.com:6400
*via gopher -- gopher Benjamins.titlenet.com 6400