Free variation in grammar : : empirical and theoretical approaches / / edited by Kristin Kopf, IDS Mannheim/University of Mainz ; Thilo Weber, IDS Mannheim.

• TeilnehmendeR: Kopf, Kristin,; Weber, Thilo,
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English

"Recent years have seen a growing interest in grammatical variation, a core explanandum of grammatical theory. The present volume explores questions that are fundamental to this line of research: First, the question of whether variation can always and completely be explained by intra- or extra-linguistic predictors, or whether there is a certain amount of unpredictable - or 'free' - grammatical variation. Second, the question of what implications the (in-)existence of free variation would hold for our theoretical models and the empirical study of grammar. The volume provides the first dedicated book-length treatment of this long-standing topic. Following an introductory chapter by the editors, it contains ten case studies on potentially free variation in morphology and syntax drawn from Germanic, Romance, Uralic and Maya"-- Provided by publisher.