@book{01H0A7B906H3C4Z8BCFB6M1MTD,
  abstract     = {{The study is a corpus-based analysis of the ditransitive alternation in present-day
German with 17 noncomplex and complex verbs, viz. geben, schicken, senden; abgeben,
preisgeben, übergeben, vergeben, weitergeben, zurückgeben; einschicken, einsenden, übersenden, zurückschicken, zurücksenden; ausleihen, verleihen and verkaufen. The alternating constructions are the Indirect Object Construction (IOC) and the Prepositional Object Construction (POC). Both alternants contain a trivalent transfer verb in combination with three arguments: an AGENT in the nominative, a THEME in the accusative and a RECIPIENT-like argument. The RECIPIENT-like argument can either be realised as a dative Noun Phrase or as a Prepositional Phrase introduced by an + accusative (or, alternatively, zu + dative with the verbs schicken and senden and their complex
counterparts), resulting in IOC or POC, respectively. Statistical analyses of 7400
sentences retrieved from the IDS Mannheim’s DeReKo corpus and taken from German,
Swiss, Austrian and Wikipedia sources show that the alternation is associated with
multiple factors that are assumed to operate simultaneously. A major conclusion of the
investigation is that predictors pertaining to the principle of Harmonic Alignment of the
arguments (according to which animate, pronominal, definite, given, short arguments
precede inanimate, nominal, indefinite, new and long arguments) play a role in the
alternation, but that other predictors are involved as well and, hence, Harmonic
Alignment only partly accounts for the German data. Apart from factors such as Case
Syncretism and Propernounhood of the RECIPIENT argument, which relate to a tendency
towards greater transparency associated with POC, properties specifically pertaining to
the verb, the three denotational classes (viz. concrete, abstract, propositional) and
various senses turn out to be important factors in view of a comprehensive account of
the alternation. The alternation moreover proves to be strongly verb-dependent. The
two alternating constructions IOC and POC are thus shown to relate to the
semantics/pragmatics interface, which requires a careful analysis of the encoded and
inferred meanings that ground the alternation.

Apart from the Probabilistic Approach utilised to analyse the data, the theoretical
framework in which the study is embedded is an Integrative Approach which takes into
account both constructionist and projectionist assumptions in the analysis of
morphosyntax and alternating constructions. With regard to the issues of meaning and
sense, the analysis is couched in a Three-Layer Approach to meaning, in which a
difference is made between encoded linguistic content (semantics proper) and inferred
linguistic content (the domain of pragmatics). Importantly, the pragmatic level is
further differentiated to account for the partly highly conventionalised variation in
form and meaning at the intermediate level of ‘normal language use’, in line with the
theories of meaning developed by E. Coseriu and S. Levinson. IOC and POC are thus not
considered two encoded constructions in their own right in German grammar, but
rather as two pragmatically defined ‘allostructions’ of an overarching general
‘constructeme’, which is termed the AGENT-THEME-GOAL construction. Both the verbs and
the AGENT-THEME-GOAL construction contribute to the alternation with their general,
underspecified meanings but they are varyingly enriched by encyclopaedic knowledge
and a range of factors that pertain to pragmatics. IOC or POC can thus be shown to be
associated with a large set of statistically significant factors that interact with each
other and with the AGENT-THEME-GOAL construction, i.e., the ‘constructeme’ that
underpins both IOC and POC.}},
  author       = {{De Vaere, Hilde}},
  isbn         = {{9789027213723}},
  issn         = {{2452-2120}},
  keywords     = {{Ditransitive alternation,German,Indirect Object Construction,Prepositional Object Construction,statistical analysis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{xviii, 333}},
  publisher    = {{John Benjamins}},
  title        = {{The ditransitive alternation in present-day German : a corpus-based analysis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/sigl.6}},
  volume       = {{6}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}

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