Abstract
By capitalizing on insight gained from the syntax of early English, comparative inversion reveals itself as a simpler process than is standardly assumed, viz. simpler than moving the finite verbal element to the C(omp)-domain in conjunction with subject movement to Spec,TP. An archaic option in the grammar allows the subject to stay in a lower position than the canonically assumed specifier of the inflectional domain and no head movement to C is invoked. The proposal complements recent findings regarding the diachrony of V2 in English together with its distinct derivation from classical V2 in Germanic. Together with the core analysis of inversion in comparatives, the article illustrates further areas in which beneficial consequences for comparatives are derived from the structure proposed, such as the persistence of certain subjectless comparative structures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beck, S., Oda, T., & Sugisaki, K. 2004. Parametric variation in the semantics of comparison: Japanese vs. English. Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 13, 289–344.
Beck, S., D. Fleischer, R. Gergel, S. Hofstetter, S. Krasikova, C. Savelsberg, J. Vanderelst, and E. Villalta. 2008. Cross-linguistic variation in comparison constructions. Ms. Universität Tübingen.
Bhatt, R., & Takahashi, S. 2007. Direct comparisons: Resurrecting the direct analysis of phrasal comparatives. Proceedings of SALT 17. Ithaca: CLC.
Biberauer, T., A. Holmberg, G. Newton, M. Sheehan, and I. Roberts. 2008. On impossible changes and borrowings: the Final-Over-Final-Constraint. Paper presented at the workshop Continuity and Change in Grammar. University of Cambridge.
Bobaljik, J. 2002. A-chains at the PF-interface: copies and “covert” movement. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 20, 197–267.
Bresnan, J. 1973. Syntax of the comparative clause construction in English. Linguistic Inquiry, 4, 275–343.
Chomsky, N. 1977. On wh-movement. In P.Culicover, T. Wasco, & A. Akmajian (Eds.), Formal syntax (pp. 71–132). New York: Academic.
Cinque, G. 1999. Adverbs and functional heads: a cross-linguistic perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Culicover, P.W., and S. Winkler. 2008. English focus inversion constructions. Ms. Ohio State University/Universität Tübingen.
Demirdache, H., & Uribe-Etxebarria, M. 2000. The primitives of temporal relations. In RMartin, & J. Uriagereka (Eds.), Step by step. Essays on minimalist syntax in honor of Howard Lasnik (pp. 157–185). Cambridge.: MIT.
den Besten, H. 1977. On the interaction of root transformations and lexical deletive rules. (Later published in J.B. den Besten: 1989, Studies in West Germanic Syntax, Rodopi, Amsterdam.)
den Besten, H. 1978. On the presence and absence of wh-elements in Dutch comparatives. Linguistic Inquiry, 9, 641–671.
Emonds, J.E. 1970. Root and structure preserving transformations. Ph.D., MIT.
Emonds, J.E. 1976. A transformational approach to English syntax: root, structure-preserving, and local transformations. New York: Academic.
Fischer, O., van Kemenade, A., Koopman, W., & van der Wurff, W. 2000. The syntax of early English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fox, D., and J. Nissenbaum. 1999. Extraposition and scope: a case for overt QR. In Proceedings of the 18th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics, 132–144.
Gergel, R. 2005. Modality and ellipsis: Diachronic and synchronic evidence. Doctoral dissertation, Universität Tübingen.
Gergel, R., Gengel, K., & Winkler, S. 2007. Ellipsis and inversion: a feature-based focus account. In KSchwabe, & S. Winkler (Eds.), On information structure, meaning and form (pp. 301–322). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Göbbel, E. 2007. Extraposition as PF Movement. In Proceedings of WECOL 2006.
Goldsmith, J.A. 1981. Complementizers and root clauses. Linguistic Inquiry, 12, 541–574.
Haeberli, E. 2000. Adjuncts and the syntax of subjects in Old and Middle English. In SPintzuk, G. Tsoulas, & A. Warner (Eds.), Diachronic syntax: models and mechanisms (pp. 109–131). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Haeberli, E. 2002. Inflectional morphology and the loss of verb second in English. In DLightfoot (Ed.), Syntactic effects of morphological change (pp. 88–106). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hankamer, J. 1973. Why there are two ‘than’s in English. In Proceedings of the 9th Annual Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society. Chicago, IL., 179–191.
Hegarty, M. 2005. Feature-based functional categories: the structure, acquisition and specific impairment of functional systems. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Heim, I. 2006. Remarks on comparative clauses as generalized quantifiers. Ms., MIT.
Huddleston, R., & Pullum, G. 2002. The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson, K. 1991. Object positions. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 9, 577–636.
Kroch, A. 1989. Reflexes of grammar in patterns of language change. Language variation and change, 1, 199–244.
Kroch, A. 2001. Syntactic change. In MBaltin, & C. Collins (Eds.), The handbook of contemporary syntactic theory (pp. 699–729). Malden: Blackwell.
Kroch, A. 2007. Quantitative syntactic patterns in the Penn-Helsinki Corpora of Historical English, Paper presented at the J.W. Goethe-Universität Frankfurt a.M.
Kroch, A., & Taylor, A. 2000a. The Penn-Helsinki parsed corpus of Middle English. Philadelphia: Department of Linguistic, University of Pennsylvania.
Kroch, A., & Taylor, A. 2000b. Verb-complement order in Middle English. In SPintzuk, G. Tsoulas, & A. Warner (Eds.), Diachronic syntax: models and mechanisms (pp. 132–163). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kroch, A., Taylor, A., & Ringe, D. 2000. The Middle English verb-second constraint: A case study in language contact and language change. In S. Herring, P. van Reenen, & L. Schoesler (Eds.), Textual parameters in old language (pp. 353–391). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Kroch, A., Santorini, B., & Delfs, L. 2004. The Penn-Helsinki parsed corpus of early Modern English. Philadelphia: Department of Linguistic, University of Pennsylvania.
Labov, W. 2001. Principles of linguistic change. Malden: Blackwell.
Lechner, W. 2004. Ellipsis in comparatives. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Merchant, J. 2003. Subject-auxiliary inversion in comparatives and PF output constraints. In KSchwabe, & S. Winkler (Eds.), The interfaces: deriving and interpreting omitted structures (pp. 55–77). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Mitchell, B. 1985. Old English syntax. Oxford: Clarendon.
Moro, A. 1997. The raising of predicates: predicative noun phrases and the theory of clause structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Niinuma, F., & Park, M. 2004. A case for head movement at PF: SAI in comparatives. In ABreitbarth, & H. van Riemsdijk (Eds.), Triggers (pp. 431–450). Berlin Mouton de Gruyter.
Pintzuk, S. 1991. Phrase structures in competition: variation and change in old English word order. Ph.D. thesis, University of Pennsylvania.
Pintzuk, S., & Kroch, A. 1989. The rightward movement of complements and adjuncts in the Old English of Beowulf. Language Variation and Change, 1, 115–143.
Pollock, J.-Y. 1989. Verb movement, universal grammar and the structure of IP. Linguistic Inquiry, 20, 365–424.
Potts, C. 2002. The syntax and semantics of As-parentheticals. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 20, 623–689.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. 1972. A grammar of contemporary English. London: Longman.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. 1985. A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman.
Roberts, I.G. 1993. Verbs and diachronic syntax. a comparative history of English and French. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Roberts, I.G. 2007. Diachronic syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sauerland, U. 2004. The interpretation of traces. Natural Language Semantics, 12, 63–128.
Speyer, A. forth. The Trochaic Requirement. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Pennsylvania.
Stassen, L. 1985. Comparison and universal grammar. Oxford: Blackwell.
Taylor, A., Warner, A., Pintzuk, S., & Beths, F. 2003. The York-Toronto-Helsinki parsed corpus of Old English prose. York: Department of Language and Linguistic Science, University of York.
Thomason, S. 2008. Can language contact cause dramatic rapid morphosyntactic change? Paper presented at Continuity and Change in Grammar. University of Cambridge.
van Kemenade, A. 1987. Syntactic case and morphological case in the history of English. Dordrecht: Foris.
van Kemenade, A. 1997. V2 and embedded topicalisation in Old and Middle English. In A van Kemenade, & N. Vincent (Eds.), Parameters of morphosyntactic change (pp. 326–352). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
van Riemsdijk, H. 1998. Head movement and adjacency. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 16, 633–678.
von Stechow, A. 1984. Comparing semantic theories of comparison. Journal of Semantics, 3, 1–77.
Warner, A. 1997. The structure of parametric change and V-movement in the history of English. In A van Kemendade, & N. Vincent (Eds.), Parameters of morphosyntactic change (pp. 380–393). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Warner, A. 2006. Change in periphrastic do. In A van Kemenade, & B Los (Eds.), The handbook of the history of English (pp. 45–67). Oxford: Blackwell.
Weinreich, U., Labov, W., & Herzog, M. 1968. Empirical foundations for a theory of language change. In W.P.Lehmann , & Y Malkiel (Eds.), Directions for historical linguistics: a symposium (pp. 95–195). Austin: University of Texas Press.
Williams, A. 2000. Null subjects in Middle English existentials. In S.Pintzuk , G. Tsoulas, & A. Warner (Eds.), Diachronic syntax: models and mechanisms (pp. 164–190). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Winkler, S. 2005. Ellipsis and focus in generative grammar. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gergel, R. Comparative inversion: a diachronic study. J Comp German Linguistics 11, 191–211 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10828-008-9022-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10828-008-9022-4