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The alternating predicate puzzle : dat-nom vs. nom-dat in Icelandic and German

(2019) CONSTRUCTIONS AND FRAMES. 11(1). p.107-170
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Abstract
A long-standing divide between Icelandic and German in the literature takes for granted that there are non-nominative subjects in Icelandic, while corresponding arguments in German have been analyzed as objects (Zaenen et al. 1985; Sigurosson 1989). This is based on two differences between these languages: (a) differences with regard to control and conjunction reduction and (b) apparent subject behavior of the nominative in DAT-NOM constructions in German. This article focuses on the latter, introducing into the discussion the concept of alternating predicates, that is, DAT-NOM predicates that systematically alternate between two diametrically-opposed argument structure constructions, DAT-NOM and NOM-DAT. A comparison between Icelandic and German shows that Icelandic DAT-NOM predicates are of two types, a non-alternating lika type and an alternating falla i geo type, whereas German seems to exhibit only the alternating type. On this assumption, the apparent subject behavior of the nominative in German is easily explained, since such occurrences in fact involve the NOM-DAT construction and not the DAT-NOM construction. Therefore, the subject behavior of the nominative in NOM-DAT constructions does not invalidate a subject analysis of the dative in DAT-NOM constructions in German. The analysis is couched in the framework of construction grammar.
Keywords
argument structure, alternating predicates, case marking, oblique subjects, DAT-NOM predicates, Icelandic, German, construction grammar, GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTIONS, LANGUAGE

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MLA
Barðdal, Jóhanna, et al. “The Alternating Predicate Puzzle : Dat-Nom vs. Nom-Dat in Icelandic and German.” CONSTRUCTIONS AND FRAMES, vol. 11, no. 1, 2019, pp. 107–70, doi:10.1075/cf.00025.bar.
APA
Barðdal, J., Eythórsson, T., & Dewey, T. K. (2019). The alternating predicate puzzle : dat-nom vs. nom-dat in Icelandic and German. CONSTRUCTIONS AND FRAMES, 11(1), 107–170. https://doi.org/10.1075/cf.00025.bar
Chicago author-date
Barðdal, Jóhanna, Thórhallur Eythórsson, and Tonya Kim Dewey. 2019. “The Alternating Predicate Puzzle : Dat-Nom vs. Nom-Dat in Icelandic and German.” CONSTRUCTIONS AND FRAMES 11 (1): 107–70. https://doi.org/10.1075/cf.00025.bar.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Barðdal, Jóhanna, Thórhallur Eythórsson, and Tonya Kim Dewey. 2019. “The Alternating Predicate Puzzle : Dat-Nom vs. Nom-Dat in Icelandic and German.” CONSTRUCTIONS AND FRAMES 11 (1): 107–170. doi:10.1075/cf.00025.bar.
Vancouver
1.
Barðdal J, Eythórsson T, Dewey TK. The alternating predicate puzzle : dat-nom vs. nom-dat in Icelandic and German. CONSTRUCTIONS AND FRAMES. 2019;11(1):107–70.
IEEE
[1]
J. Barðdal, T. Eythórsson, and T. K. Dewey, “The alternating predicate puzzle : dat-nom vs. nom-dat in Icelandic and German,” CONSTRUCTIONS AND FRAMES, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 107–170, 2019.
@article{8566228,
  abstract     = {{A long-standing divide between Icelandic and German in the literature takes for granted that there are non-nominative subjects in Icelandic, while corresponding arguments in German have been analyzed as objects (Zaenen et al. 1985; Sigurosson 1989). This is based on two differences between these languages: (a) differences with regard to control and conjunction reduction and (b) apparent subject behavior of the nominative in DAT-NOM constructions in German. This article focuses on the latter, introducing into the discussion the concept of alternating predicates, that is, DAT-NOM predicates that systematically alternate between two diametrically-opposed argument structure constructions, DAT-NOM and NOM-DAT. A comparison between Icelandic and German shows that Icelandic DAT-NOM predicates are of two types, a non-alternating lika type and an alternating falla i geo type, whereas German seems to exhibit only the alternating type. On this assumption, the apparent subject behavior of the nominative in German is easily explained, since such occurrences in fact involve the NOM-DAT construction and not the DAT-NOM construction. Therefore, the subject behavior of the nominative in NOM-DAT constructions does not invalidate a subject analysis of the dative in DAT-NOM constructions in German. The analysis is couched in the framework of construction grammar.}},
  author       = {{Barðdal, Jóhanna and Eythórsson, Thórhallur and Dewey, Tonya Kim}},
  issn         = {{1876-1933}},
  journal      = {{CONSTRUCTIONS AND FRAMES}},
  keywords     = {{argument structure,alternating predicates,case marking,oblique subjects,DAT-NOM predicates,Icelandic,German,construction grammar,GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTIONS,LANGUAGE}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{107--170}},
  title        = {{The alternating predicate puzzle : dat-nom vs. nom-dat in Icelandic and German}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1075/cf.00025.bar}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}

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