Syntax Semantics Pragmatics Interface

Diese Studie zur Struktur, Bedeutung und kommunikativen Funktion von Frageausdrücken und anderen zum Vollzug von Fragehandlungen geeigneten Formulierungen des Deutschen wurde im August 1980 der Philosophischen Fakultät für Sprach-und Literaturwissenschaft II der Universität München als Dissertation vorgelegt und für den Druck nur geringfügig überarbeitet. Vor allem wurden zur Erhöhung der Lesbarkeit dem formalen zweiten Teil Erläuterungen hinzugefügt.

A comparative literature review is carried out on the topic of pronominal reference, looking specifically at pronoun gender agreement. Theoretical (Audring 2013, Josefsson 2006) and empirical accounts (Hammer et al. 2005, Dong et al. 2015) are compared. It is argued that these converge on the finding that pronouns, rather than being mere syntactic devices used for agreement, are selected on the basis of their own semantic load (referred to here as “independent pronoun semantics”); moreover, that independent pronoun semantics plays an important role in establishing pronominal reference. These findings are placed in a broader context, making a case for the psychological reality of Gricean pragmatics. Finally, a connection is made with Everett’s model of “cultural constraints on grammar” (cf. Everett 2005).

Term paper for The Syntax-Semantics Interface class, taught by Prof. Dr. Helen de Hoop.

If you find any ERRATA, please let me know!

This paper argues that there is a one-to-one mapping between the syntax of a causal clause and its semantic type. A causal central adverbial clause (CAC) is base-generated inside its licensing clause in a deep position and refers to a relation between eventualities. A causal peripheral adverbial clause (PAC) is base-generated inside its licensing clause in a high position and refers to a relation between propositions, and a causal non-integrated adverbial clause (NonIC) is a syntactic orphan and refers to a relation between speech acts. The German causal sentence forms considered in this paper occur in certain classes. A weil-verb-final-clause is by default a CAC; if it is supported by certain indicators, it can occur as a PAC or as a NonIC. A da-clause typically occurs as a PAC; if it is supported by certain indicators , it can occur as a NonIC. A weil-V2-clause necessarily occurs as a NonIC. The three domains in which according to Sweetser (1990) causal conjunctions may be interpreted – (i) the content domain, (ii) the epistemic domain, (iii) the speech act domain – relate to the syntax of causal clauses in the following ways: a causal CAC supports (i), a causal PAC supports (i) or (ii), a causal NonIC supports (i), (ii) or (iii). The paper discusses several consequences of these claims, among them the distribution of root phenomena and the syntax of performative clauses.