w-connectors: theory and diachrony of subordinating w-elements in German

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Marco Coniglio; Professor Dr. Eric Fuß
• Subject Area: Individual Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 552052569

In many Germanic languages, the functions of wh-words have increased diachronically, especially as elements introducing subordinate clauses. While wh-pronouns primarily appear as interrogatives and indefinites in the earliest historical stages, they subsequently spread first to free relative clauses and later to headed relative clauses. In addition, they begin to appear as adverbial complementizers from the Early Modern German period onwards. These processes should not be viewed in isolation from one another, as adverbial wh-connectors developed from relative wh-adverbs (wie 'how', wo 'where', wenn 'when') or prepositional adverbs such as "wobei" 'whereby'. The result is a system in which wh-elements are highly polyfunctional. The details of the processes that lead to the formation of new relative and adverbial construction types have so far been insufficiently researched for the history of German. Previous studies have primarily focused on specific aspects, such as the development of morphologically simple wh-relativizers (wer 'who', was 'what') and relative wh-determiners (welch- 'which'). The aim of the project is to systematically review the relevant historical developments, taking into account qualitative and quantitative aspects to gain a better understanding of the diachronic pathway and possible causes of the spread of wh-forms in relative and adverbial clauses. In addition, a theoretical model is developed that places the individual processes in a larger explanatory context. This context incorporates recent generative findings on the internal structure and properties of wh-forms, while also embedding historical facts within a restrictive theory of polyfunctional elements.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria, Czech Republic, Italy
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Chiara De Bastiani; Professor Dr. Victor Edgar Onea Gáspár; Professor Dr. Radek Simik