Word order change in German infinitival complementation
The role of processing factors
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20344904 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ilaria De Cesare (0000-0002-5383-8187, University of Potsdam), Sina Bosch (0000-0001-9205-6041, University of Potsdam), Claudia Felser (0000-0001-9424-0950, University of Potsdam), Ulrike Demske (0000-0002-8427-648X, University of Potsdam) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 575-604 |
| Publication date | 2024-12-31 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Diachronica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0176-4225 • E-ISSN: 1569-9714 |
| Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1075/dia.22037.dec |
| OpenAlex | W4404073562 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 34 |
The present article discusses whether processing factors might play a role in the reduction of word order variability in German infinitival complements of control verbs, connecting evidence from a diachronic corpus study to processing considerations and psycholinguistic findings. We show that intraposition, a linearization pattern that has been claimed to be costly in comprehension due to both center-embedding and temporary ambiguity, became less frequent in language use over time. Findings from language production experiments show that present-day German speakers avoid producing intraposition patterns even following repeated exposure to this pattern. Taken together, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that processing factors can influence the distribution of word order variants. Looking at the diachronic dimension, however, reveals that the effect of processing factors can be modulated by sociolinguistic factors and the impact of language modality
Biology · Business · Complementation · German · Linguistics · Phenotype · Word order · History · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation · Genetics
Analyzing Linguistic Data
The Syntax of German
Effect of Ambiguity and Lexical Availability on Syntactic and Lexical Production
Making and correcting errors during sentence comprehension
Alignment as a consequence of expectation adaptation
Linguistic complexity
Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4
Millennia of Language Change
Infinitives
Social and Stylistic Variation in Early New High German Word Order
Deutsche Sprachgeschichte vom Spätmittelalter bis zur Gegenwart
Studies on Old High German Syntax
Von den vier Lebensaltern einer Standardsprache – Zur Rolle von Spracherwerb und Medialität
Processing Factors Constrain Word-Order Variation in German
Do dependency lengths explain constraints on crossing dependencies
A Performance Theory of Order and Constituency
Smooth Signals and Syntactic Change
Minimality in verb-cluster formation
Some principles of linguistic methodology
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |