Gisbert Fanselow
Biographic Data
| ID | 747843 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gisbert Fanselow |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gisbert |
| FAMILY NAME | Fanselow |
| SIGNATURE | FANSELOW G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Potsdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1877-865X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 80 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1981 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
On the asymmetry of wh-doubling in varieties of German and Dutch
This paper combines experimental, theoretical and quantitative approaches to syntactic microvariation. The empirical goal is to clarify the situation with respect to wh-doubling (also: wh-copying) in varieties of German and Dutch. With a large-scale survey in the German and Dutch language areas we sought to establish which speakers allow wh-doubling, which speakers allow right-complexity, i.e., configurations in which the lower copy of the wh-dep…
Sources of variability in the syntactic flexibility of idioms
Idiomatic verb phrases (e.g., kick the bucket, fig. 'to die') vary in their syntactic flexibility: they can undergo operations like, e.g., passivization (“The bucket was kicked”) to varying degrees. We (re-)consider potential sources of this variability. It has been proposed that compositionality influences syntactic flexibility of idioms. In the first part of the paper, we reassess this finding from a methodological perspective by replicating ea…
The syntactic flexibility of German and English idioms
It is controversial which idioms can occur with which syntactic structures. For example, can Mary kicked the bucket (figurative meaning: ‘Mary died’) be passivized to The bucket was kicked by Mary ? We present a series of experiments in which we test which structures are compatible with which idioms in German (for which there are few experimental data so far) and English, using acceptability judgments. For some of the tested structures – includin…
Accessing the availability of inverse scope in German in the covered box paradigm
This paper presents the results of a novel experimental approach to relative quantifier scope in German that elicits data in an indirect manner. Applying the covered-box method (Huang et al. 2013) to scope phenomena, we show that inverse scope is available to some extent in the free constituent order language German, thereby validating earlier findings on other syntactic configurations in German (Radó & Bott 2018) and empirical claims on other fr…
Discontinuous noun phrases in Yucatec Maya
Languages differ in whether or not they allow discontinuous noun phrases. If they do, they further vary in the ways the nominal projections interact with the available syntactic operations. Yucatec Maya has two left-peripheral configurations that differ syntactically: a preverbal position for foci or wh -elements that is filled in by movement, and the possibility to adjoin topics at the highest clausal layer. These two structural options are refl…
Partial Wh‐ Movement
Various strategies for questioning constituents of an embedded clause can be found in natural languages. The chapter focuses on the partial displacement of wh ‐phrases, in which the wh ‐phrase moves to the left but fails to reach its scope position. Constructions with partial movement are often characterized by further properties, such as the additional appearance of a scope marker or of the most unmarked wh ‐phrase in the scope position, or the …
Superiority in English and German
Do the grammars of English and German contain a ban on moving the lower of two wh-phrases (Superiority), or is the lower acceptability due simply to the complexity of processing the longer dependency that results when the lower wh-phrase is moved? The results of four acceptability-judgment studies suggest that a pure processing account is inadequate. Crossing wh-dependencies lower the acceptability of both German and English questions but with a …
DET, Comp und INFL
Language and Logos
Left peripheral focus
In Czech, German, and many other languages, part of the semantic focus of the utterance can be moved to the left periphery of the clause. The main generalization is that only the leftmost accented part of the semantic focus can be moved. We propose that movement to the left periphery is generally triggered by an unspecific edge feature of C (Chomsky 2008 ) and its restrictions can be attributed to requirements of cyclic linearization, modifying t…
Animacy effects on crossing wh-movement in German
This article presents several acceptability rating experiments concerned with crossing wh-movement in German multiple questions. Our results show that there is no general superiority effect in German, thus refuting claims to the contrary by Featherston (2005). However, acceptability is reduced when a wh-phrase crosses a wh-subject with which it agrees in animacy. We explain this finding in terms of the availability of different sorting keys for t…
Focus and the exclusion of alternatives
On the Informativity of Different Measures of Linguistic Acceptability
This article deals with the claim that the magnitude estimation (ME) method of gathering acceptability judgments produces data that are more informative for linguists than binary or n -point scale judgments. We performed three acceptability-rating experiments that directly compared ME data to binary and seven-point scale data. The results clearly falsify the hypothesis that data gathered by the ME method carry a larger amount of information about…
Focus in Georgian and the expression of contrast
Die (generative) Syntax in den Zeiten der Empiriediskussion
In need of mediation
This paper defends the view that syntax does not directly interact with information structure. Rather, information structure affects prosody, and only the latter has an interface with syntax. We illustrate this point by discussing scrambling, focus preposing, and topicalization. The position entertained here implies that syntax is not very informative when one wants to narrow down the interpretation of terms such as “focus”, “topic”, etc
Carrots – perfect as vegetables, but please not as a main dish
0. One of the merits of generative syntax is that it has broadened the data base for syntactic research in a very profound way. There was, e.g., little (if any) discussion of the role syntax plays for anaphoric and pronominal binding before generative syntax came into being, and there was little or no knowledge about restrictions on the placement of elements into the left periphery of clauses, such as the island constraints of Ross (1967) or the …
Amnestying Superiority Violations
Two experiments investigated the acceptability of multiple questions. As expected, sentences violating the Superiority Condition were accepted less often than sentences obeying it.The status of the Superiority violations was not improved by the addition of a third wh, regardless of whether the third wh was an adjunct or an argument, though it was improved by the addition of a second question (e.g., and when).Further, in a small pilot study direct…
Syntactic variation in German wh-questions
This paper reports three experiments concerning variation in the grammar of German wh-questions. We found much variation but no clear dialects in the acceptability ratings of sentences violating the weak crossover condition. We attribute this variation to extra-grammatical factors. With a sentence completion task, we were able to show that there is regional variation concerning the scope of wh-movement. In a training experiment, we were also able…
Features, θ-Roles, and Free Constituent Order
This article proposes a new base generation account of free constituent order. Scrambling as movement is incompatible with central assumptions of the Minimalist Program:it cannot involve the checking of strong categorial features. Concentrating on German, the article refutes the standard empirical arguments for scrambling and shows that free constituent order is a base-generated phenomenon. The article proposes that °-role assignment is a by-prod…
The Parameterization of Universal Grammar
DET, Comp und INFL
Forum
Bericht 0. Der Anspruch "Grundzge einer deutschen Grammatik" (Grundzge 1981; im folgenden mit G abgekrzt). Die bescheidene Zurckhaltung der Autoren bei der Wahl des Titels ist programmatisch und wird im Vorwort begrndet. Die "Grundzge" sollen der Versuch sein "einen berblick ber den Aufbau des Systems der gegenwrtigen deutschen Literatursprache mit der Darstellung der internen Zusammenhnge dieses Systems zu verbinden" (S. 5). Als Anforderungen ne…
Eingesandte Literatur
DOAJ is a unique and extensive index of diverse open access journals from around the world, driven by a growing community, committed to ensuring quality content is freely available online for everyone
Zur Syntax und Semantik der Nominalkomposition
Left peripheral focus
In Czech, German, and many other languages, part of the semantic focus of the utterance can be moved to the left periphery of the clause. The main generalization is that only the leftmost accented part of the semantic focus can be moved. We propose that movement to the left periphery is generally triggered by an unspecific edge feature of C (Chomsky 2008 ) and its restrictions can be attributed to requirements of cyclic linearization, modifying t…
Features, θ-Roles, and Free Constituent Order
This article proposes a new base generation account of free constituent order. Scrambling as movement is incompatible with central assumptions of the Minimalist Program:it cannot involve the checking of strong categorial features. Concentrating on German, the article refutes the standard empirical arguments for scrambling and shows that free constituent order is a base-generated phenomenon. The article proposes that °-role assignment is a by-prod…
Amnestying Superiority Violations
Two experiments investigated the acceptability of multiple questions. As expected, sentences violating the Superiority Condition were accepted less often than sentences obeying it.The status of the Superiority violations was not improved by the addition of a third wh, regardless of whether the third wh was an adjunct or an argument, though it was improved by the addition of a second question (e.g., and when).Further, in a small pilot study direct…
Focus in Georgian and the expression of contrast
On the Informativity of Different Measures of Linguistic Acceptability
This article deals with the claim that the magnitude estimation (ME) method of gathering acceptability judgments produces data that are more informative for linguists than binary or n -point scale judgments. We performed three acceptability-rating experiments that directly compared ME data to binary and seven-point scale data. The results clearly falsify the hypothesis that data gathered by the ME method carry a larger amount of information about…
Focus and the exclusion of alternatives
Discontinuous noun phrases in Yucatec Maya
Languages differ in whether or not they allow discontinuous noun phrases. If they do, they further vary in the ways the nominal projections interact with the available syntactic operations. Yucatec Maya has two left-peripheral configurations that differ syntactically: a preverbal position for foci or wh -elements that is filled in by movement, and the possibility to adjoin topics at the highest clausal layer. These two structural options are refl…
Animacy effects on crossing wh-movement in German
This article presents several acceptability rating experiments concerned with crossing wh-movement in German multiple questions. Our results show that there is no general superiority effect in German, thus refuting claims to the contrary by Featherston (2005). However, acceptability is reduced when a wh-phrase crosses a wh-subject with which it agrees in animacy. We explain this finding in terms of the availability of different sorting keys for t…
Zur Syntax und Semantik der Nominalkomposition
Forum
Bericht 0. Der Anspruch "Grundzge einer deutschen Grammatik" (Grundzge 1981; im folgenden mit G abgekrzt). Die bescheidene Zurckhaltung der Autoren bei der Wahl des Titels ist programmatisch und wird im Vorwort begrndet. Die "Grundzge" sollen der Versuch sein "einen berblick ber den Aufbau des Systems der gegenwrtigen deutschen Literatursprache mit der Darstellung der internen Zusammenhnge dieses Systems zu verbinden" (S. 5). Als Anforderungen ne…
Eingesandte Literatur
DOAJ is a unique and extensive index of diverse open access journals from around the world, driven by a growing community, committed to ensuring quality content is freely available online for everyone
DET, Comp und INFL
The Parameterization of Universal Grammar
Features, θ-Roles, and Free Constituent Order
This article proposes a new base generation account of free constituent order. Scrambling as movement is incompatible with central assumptions of the Minimalist Program:it cannot involve the checking of strong categorial features. Concentrating on German, the article refutes the standard empirical arguments for scrambling and shows that free constituent order is a base-generated phenomenon. The article proposes that °-role assignment is a by-prod…
Syntactic variation in German wh-questions
This paper reports three experiments concerning variation in the grammar of German wh-questions. We found much variation but no clear dialects in the acceptability ratings of sentences violating the weak crossover condition. We attribute this variation to extra-grammatical factors. With a sentence completion task, we were able to show that there is regional variation concerning the scope of wh-movement. In a training experiment, we were also able…
Amnestying Superiority Violations
Two experiments investigated the acceptability of multiple questions. As expected, sentences violating the Superiority Condition were accepted less often than sentences obeying it.The status of the Superiority violations was not improved by the addition of a third wh, regardless of whether the third wh was an adjunct or an argument, though it was improved by the addition of a second question (e.g., and when).Further, in a small pilot study direct…
Carrots – perfect as vegetables, but please not as a main dish
0. One of the merits of generative syntax is that it has broadened the data base for syntactic research in a very profound way. There was, e.g., little (if any) discussion of the role syntax plays for anaphoric and pronominal binding before generative syntax came into being, and there was little or no knowledge about restrictions on the placement of elements into the left periphery of clauses, such as the island constraints of Ross (1967) or the …
In need of mediation
This paper defends the view that syntax does not directly interact with information structure. Rather, information structure affects prosody, and only the latter has an interface with syntax. We illustrate this point by discussing scrambling, focus preposing, and topicalization. The position entertained here implies that syntax is not very informative when one wants to narrow down the interpretation of terms such as “focus”, “topic”, etc
Die (generative) Syntax in den Zeiten der Empiriediskussion
Focus in Georgian and the expression of contrast
Left peripheral focus
In Czech, German, and many other languages, part of the semantic focus of the utterance can be moved to the left periphery of the clause. The main generalization is that only the leftmost accented part of the semantic focus can be moved. We propose that movement to the left periphery is generally triggered by an unspecific edge feature of C (Chomsky 2008 ) and its restrictions can be attributed to requirements of cyclic linearization, modifying t…
Animacy effects on crossing wh-movement in German
This article presents several acceptability rating experiments concerned with crossing wh-movement in German multiple questions. Our results show that there is no general superiority effect in German, thus refuting claims to the contrary by Featherston (2005). However, acceptability is reduced when a wh-phrase crosses a wh-subject with which it agrees in animacy. We explain this finding in terms of the availability of different sorting keys for t…
Focus and the exclusion of alternatives
On the Informativity of Different Measures of Linguistic Acceptability
This article deals with the claim that the magnitude estimation (ME) method of gathering acceptability judgments produces data that are more informative for linguists than binary or n -point scale judgments. We performed three acceptability-rating experiments that directly compared ME data to binary and seven-point scale data. The results clearly falsify the hypothesis that data gathered by the ME method carry a larger amount of information about…
DET, Comp und INFL
Language and Logos
Superiority in English and German
Do the grammars of English and German contain a ban on moving the lower of two wh-phrases (Superiority), or is the lower acceptability due simply to the complexity of processing the longer dependency that results when the lower wh-phrase is moved? The results of four acceptability-judgment studies suggest that a pure processing account is inadequate. Crossing wh-dependencies lower the acceptability of both German and English questions but with a …
Partial Wh‐ Movement
Various strategies for questioning constituents of an embedded clause can be found in natural languages. The chapter focuses on the partial displacement of wh ‐phrases, in which the wh ‐phrase moves to the left but fails to reach its scope position. Constructions with partial movement are often characterized by further properties, such as the additional appearance of a scope marker or of the most unmarked wh ‐phrase in the scope position, or the …
Discontinuous noun phrases in Yucatec Maya
Languages differ in whether or not they allow discontinuous noun phrases. If they do, they further vary in the ways the nominal projections interact with the available syntactic operations. Yucatec Maya has two left-peripheral configurations that differ syntactically: a preverbal position for foci or wh -elements that is filled in by movement, and the possibility to adjoin topics at the highest clausal layer. These two structural options are refl…
Accessing the availability of inverse scope in German in the covered box paradigm
This paper presents the results of a novel experimental approach to relative quantifier scope in German that elicits data in an indirect manner. Applying the covered-box method (Huang et al. 2013) to scope phenomena, we show that inverse scope is available to some extent in the free constituent order language German, thereby validating earlier findings on other syntactic configurations in German (Radó & Bott 2018) and empirical claims on other fr…
Sources of variability in the syntactic flexibility of idioms
Idiomatic verb phrases (e.g., kick the bucket, fig. 'to die') vary in their syntactic flexibility: they can undergo operations like, e.g., passivization (“The bucket was kicked”) to varying degrees. We (re-)consider potential sources of this variability. It has been proposed that compositionality influences syntactic flexibility of idioms. In the first part of the paper, we reassess this finding from a methodological perspective by replicating ea…
The syntactic flexibility of German and English idioms
It is controversial which idioms can occur with which syntactic structures. For example, can Mary kicked the bucket (figurative meaning: ‘Mary died’) be passivized to The bucket was kicked by Mary ? We present a series of experiments in which we test which structures are compatible with which idioms in German (for which there are few experimental data so far) and English, using acceptability judgments. For some of the tested structures – includin…
On the asymmetry of wh-doubling in varieties of German and Dutch
This paper combines experimental, theoretical and quantitative approaches to syntactic microvariation. The empirical goal is to clarify the situation with respect to wh-doubling (also: wh-copying) in varieties of German and Dutch. With a large-scale survey in the German and Dutch language areas we sought to establish which speakers allow wh-doubling, which speakers allow right-complexity, i.e., configurations in which the lower copy of the wh-dep…
Philosophy (22 works) · Computer Science (21 works) · Linguistics (21 works) · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (14 works) · German (10 works) · Natural language processing (10 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Artificial Intelligence (8 works) · Syntax (8 works) · Mathematics (7 works)