Syntax beyond the Canon: Cutting-edge Studies of Non-Canonical Syntax in English

• Applicant: Teresa Pham, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Individual Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
• Term: from 2019 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 419901034

The scientific network Syntax beyond the Canon comprises cutting-edge studies of non-canonical syntax in English. It adopts a comprehensive approach to non-canonical syntax by going beyond the two distinct interpretations of the term non-canonical that can be found in the literature. The first of these definitions understands syntactic non-canonicity as being motivated by specific needs of information packaging or processing, while the second interpretation equates syntactic non-canonicity with deviations from established norms or standards. Furthermore, the network’s approach is comprehensive in another important sense: it incorporates research projects focusing on non-canonical syntactic constructions in a range of different varieties of English (contemporary and historical, native and non-native), as well as different text types. Non-canonical syntax, particularly according to the second of the two interpretations mentioned above, is generally dismissed by prescriptivist linguists as unacceptable or defective, and as a result is excluded from studies and surveys. Restricting the object of study in this way risks obtaining only a partial understanding of English syntax. The comprehensive study of non-canonical syntax represents a research area of fundamental importance if we are to understand fully the structural features of English not only as it is used across the world today, but also as it was used in centuries past and will be used in the future. This is particularly important given current trends in the development of the English language (such as the rise of modern communication technologies and the emergence of new contact varieties).The network unites mostly early-career scholars primarily from German universities, but it also includes two young researchers from the Netherlands (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and the United Kingdom (University of Oxford). The members of the network have a long-standing major interest in non-canonical syntax in English and have worked and published extensively on the topic. Moreover, each member can contribute specialist methodological expertise relating to data collection, corpus annotation and analysis, and/or (statistical) data analysis. The network thus unites different methodological approaches to non-canonical syntax (qualitative and quantitative; corpus studies and psycholinguistic experiments). The planned outcomes of the six network meetings are to develop a unified definition of non-canonical syntax, to provide insights into cutting-edge statistical methods, and to understand the different possible forms and functions of non-canonical syntax as encountered in the individual network research projects. The meetings will thus stimulate the network’s members to approach and analyse their data from a variety of perspectives. Leading international experts in non-canonical syntax, including Douglas Biber, Gregory Ward, and Betty Birner provide theoretical and methodological input at these meetings.

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Sven Leuckert