Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English / / ed. by Günter Rohdenburg, Britta Mondorf.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DGBA Backlist Complete English Language 2000-2014 PART1
• MitwirkendeR: Anderwald, Lieselotte,; Arnold, Jennifer,; Fischer, Olga C.M.,; Gries, Stefan Th.,; Hawkins, John A.,; Krug, Manfred,; Mair, Christian,; Mondorf, Britta,; Noël, Dirk,; Rohdenburg, Günter,; Rosenbach, Anette,; Schlüter, Julia,; Siemund, Peter,; Stefanowitsch, Anatol,; Tagliamonte, Sali A.,; Vosberg, Uwe,; Wasow, Thomas,
• HerausgeberIn: Mondorf, Britta,; Rohdenburg, Günter,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter Mouton, , [2011]; ©2003
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Topics in English Linguistics [TiEL] , 43
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (564 p.)

What factors influence the choice between alternative grammatical structures such as the following: a lit / a lighted cigarette, more full / fuller of convincing arguments, the main thesis of the book / the book's main thesis, take hostage a group of 15 holiday makers / take a group of 15 holidaymakers hostage, conceding that the argument is convincing / conceding the argument to be convincing? This is the central issue explored in this volume, which contains a unique selection of innovative in-depth empirical studies written in a broadly functional framework. The factors investigated include the following: phonological influences (such as the principle of rhythmic alternation and optimal syllable structure), frequency, pervasive semantic and pragmatic aspects (including iconicity, markedness, grammaticalization and typological tendencies), information structure, processing complexity and horror aequi (the avoidance of identity effects).

Table of Contents

I-IV -- Contents -- Introduction -- Frequency as a determinant in grammatical variation and change -- Phonological determinants of grammatical variation in English: Chomsky's worst possible case -- Post-verbal constituent ordering in English -- Grammatical variation in English: A question of 'structure vs. function'? -- Why are zero-marked phrases close to their heads? -- Cognitive complexity and horror aequi as factors determining the use of interrogative clause linkers in English -- Support for more-support -- The role of extractions and horror aequi in the evolution of -ing complements in Modern English -- Gerundial complements after begin and start: Grammatical and sociolinguistic factors, and how they work against each other -- Is there semantics in all syntax? The case of accusative and infinitive constructions vs. that-clauses -- Aspects of iconicity and economy in the choice between the s-genitive and the of-genitive in English -- Constructional semantics as a limit to grammatical alternation: The two genitives of English -- Principles of grammaticalization and linguistic reality -- Varieties of English from a cross-linguistic perspective: Intensifiers and reflexives -- Non-standard English and typological principles: The case of negation -- 'Every place has a different toll': Determinants of grammatical variation in cross-variety perspective -- Author index -- Subject index