Uncovering verb-second effects. An interface-based typology

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Georg A. Kaiser
• Subject Area: General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages ; Applied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics ; Individual Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
• Term: from 2019 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 411069456

Germanic languages, with the major exception of Modern English, are characterized by the regular occurrence of the finite verb in second position in main clauses, a property known as ‘verb second’ (V2). In the classical approach, this configuration is assumed to result from the attraction of the finite verb to the highest clausal head (C) along with the appearance of an element in its outer edge. With the development of a richer model of the sentential left periphery, which involves an array of discourse-related functional projections, this view becomes problematic, as there is no category that uniquely corresponds to C. Yet, this development has allowed looking at Germanic V2 as part of a wider set of V2 effects occurring in many other languages. Old Romance languages, for instance, have been characterized as obeying a restriction that is highly reminiscent of the Germanic one, namely that finite verbs generally do not appear in clause-initial position, but rather in at least second position.This project has three basic objectives: on the one hand, it aims at expanding the perimeter of the languages relevant to the V2 typology, by including languages with a basic subject-object-verb (SOV) order other than those relatively few examples that have been characterized as V2 (e.g. Kashmiri (Indo-Aryan), Ingush (Caucasian)). In particular, the correlation, established in much of the typological literature, between SOV order and in-situ wh-phrases and foci will be critically revisited. On this view, the adjacency between the verb and a preceding wh-phrase or focus in SOV languages corresponds to a configuration in which the preverbal element is within the VP, that is, in-situ. It will be argued that, in Basque, a bona fide SOV language, this adjacency relation rather corresponds to a syntactic configuration close to the Old Romance type, i.e. it is taken to display V2 effects. The evidence for the same correlation in Turkic languages will be explored. To this end, three Turkic languages (Kyrgiz, Kazak, and Uzbek) will be studied, complemented with the more thoroughly described Turkish, and the evidence in relation to their possible V2 status will be evaluated. The second objective is to assess whether language contact might have had a non-trivial impact in giving rise to V2 effects as an areal phenomenon in South-Western Europe, where Basque, Spanish, French, and Gascon (Occitan) all display V2 effects (to a different extent). This study will be appended by that of Sorbian (Slavic) and Raeto-Romance, both exhibiting V2 effects and being in intense contact with German. Finally, the third objective of the project is to explore a non-uniform approach to the phenomenon of V2. Specifically, it will be investigated whether V2 relies on a unique set of morpho-syntactic mechanisms or rather relates to a linear notion, in that a multitude of factors from several domains of grammar are involved, resulting in a differentiated typology of V2.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Partner Organisation: Agence Nationale de la Recherche / The French National Research Agency
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Maia Duguine
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Michael Zimmermann