LINGUIST List - Paper Details

Academic Paper

Title:	Ground Arguments in German Particle Verbs: A Comparison with Dutch and English
Author:	Toshiaki Oya
Email:	click here to access email
Institution:	University of Tsukuba
Linguistic Field:	Syntax
Subject Language:	Dutch English German
Abstract:	I discuss the following three topics with respect to German particle verbs with a ground argument. First, I consider the difference between 'anlächeln' and 'zulächeln' 'smile at' in German. In the former the accusative argument represents a ground, whereas in the latter the dative argument is licensed by inalienable semantics. Second, I discuss why a ground can be expressed by a dative in the German verb 'zueilen' 'hurry toward', whereas in the corresponding Dutch verb 'toesnelln' the preposition 'naar' or 'op' 'to' is necessary. This difference is due to the fact that German has a low dative. Finally, I consider the question of why expressions like 'pour the glass in' or 'load the truck on' are not allowed in English, whereas the corresponding expressions are possible in German and Dutch. This results from a difference in the syntactic structure of particle verbs in the languages.

	This article appears in Journal of Germanic Linguistics Vol. 21, Issue 3, which you can read on Cambridge's site or on LINGUIST .

Back Add a new paper Return to Academic Papers main page Return to Directory of Linguists main page

New from Cambridge University Press!