Infinitival Constructions in the German Dialects of Austria

On Variation, Constraints, and Change of a Prominent Syntactic Feature

Bibliographic Data

ID21722824
AuthorsPhilip C Vergeiner (0000-0002-9044-0610, corresponding author), Stephan Elspaß (0000-0002-3870-0817, University of Salzburg)
Year2025
Volume37
Issue1
Pages1-34
Publication date2025-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Germanic Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1470-5427 • E-ISSN: 1475-3014
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1470542724000096
OpenAlexW4408889875
LanguageEN
References cited24

Infinitival constructions (ICs) have received considerable attention from syntacticians and typologists, but less so from variationist linguistics. Based on new data from a comprehensive dialect survey, this study investigates the variation and change of ICs in Austrian dialects. The results reveal clear geographical patterns for different IC variants in Austria. Regarding linguistic factors, several constraints are identified, most importantly with respect to the IC’s syntactical function and governing element (e.g., phase verbs). Moreover, an apparent-time analysis shows that one variant ( zum + infinitive) has been grammaticalized and spread at the expense of all other variants, presumably due to both dialect leveling and dialect-standard advergence

Astrophysics · German · Linguistics · Physics · Lexicography and Language Studies · Linguistic research and analysis · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access