F - Contrastive Morpho-Syntax Flashcards
whats morphology in german is often syntax in english
e.g.
contrastive morpho-syntax
- infelction gender
German versus Engl
- German marks
gender (inherent),
number (non-inherent),
case (non-inherent)
syncretism
German versus Engl
- extensive syncretism
Frau, Baum, Schiff
(without article just Frau, but there are 4 forms die frau. der frau, den Frau…)
case
German vs. Engl
in German more complex.
in Engl. only Saxon genitive left:
- e.g. father’s hat, yesterday’s news
but also:
- > genitive, phrasal clitic, adposition rather than case suffix
- e.g. the Queen of England’s hat, the boy with the dark hair’s answer
how is gender-assignment in German?
3 types
semantic
- e.g. Mann, Frau
- Obst (neuter superordinate)
derivational
- heit, -keit,und -schaft
- ling, -er
- chen
extroversion (m)/introversion (f)
- Anmut, Wehmut
- Hochmut, Übermut, Wagemut
Morpho-syntactic diff.
Pronouns
german vs. engl.
German:
German possessive vs. genitive
- mein Hund / meines Hundes
two types of possessives for reference tracking
- dessen /deren versus seinen/ihren
- Ruth bezahlte für ihre Freundin und ihren/deren Mann
Engl.:
three-way gender distinction
- he she it
three-way case distinction
- subjective I
- genitive my/mine
- objective me
I/me distinction no longer strictly case but depends on phrase
- me and Rob don’t talk, Rob and I don’t talk
- she is taller than me/I
Morpho-syntactic diff.
Articles
german vs. english
case, number, gender in German can be used with proper nouns
- Der Peter ist ein guter Läufer.
(not the Peter is a good runner!)
-> invariant in English
some selection differences:
- society die Gesellschaft
- linguistics (die) Linguistik
morpho-syntactic diff.
Adjectives
German
weak and strong declension
- der gute Mann -ein guter Mann
comparative and superlative with suffixation
English
two ways of forming comparatives: analytical and synthetic with overlap
- commoner –more common
no case or number marking
marking of adverb form by adding –ly
- forms without marking
e. g. real nice unmarked form is receding
morpho-syntax contrast
voice
1) active
2) passive (E. and G. have diff restrictions)
3) medio-passive/middle voice (only in E! in G. reflexive and ‚lassen‘)
- The film is screening everywhere now.
- Shakespeare does not translate.
- Politicians bribe easily.
- She photographs well.(ambiguous in English)
What can be said abt typical morpho-syntactic structure in Engl.
this bed has been slept in
‘prepositional stranding‘
a syntactic construction in which a preposition with an object occurs somewhere other than immediately adjacent to its object; for example, at the end of a sentence.
In English, preposition stranding is found, for instance in open interrogatives, wh relatives, and passive constructions sometimes known as prepositional passives or pseudopassives.[4][5]
An open interrogative often takes the form of a wh- question (beginning with a word like what or who).
What are you talking about?[a]
Relative clauses in English can exhibit preposition stranding with or without an explicit relative pronoun:
This is the book that I told you about.[a]
This is the book I told you about.
Prepositional passives are the result of the movement of the object of a preposition to fill an empty subject position for a passive verb. This phenomenon is comparable to regular passives, which are formed through the movement of the object of the verb to subject position. In prepositional passives, unlike in wh-movement, the object of the preposition is not a wh-word but rather a pronoun or noun phrase:
This bed looks as if it has been slept in.
specifically English verbal constructions
deverbal adjectives for psych-verbs (as found in dict.)
- interesting, annoying, depressing, amusing, boring
gerunds
- You will risk not passing the exam
- I enjoy skiing.
- I insist on cleaning the car thoroughly
—> turns verb into a noun, actually gerund somewhere between a verb and a noun bc here its turned into a noun, but also takes an object
action nominalization (similar construction possible in G.) - I insist on a thorough cleaning of the car
participial relative clauses
- I will ask the man sitting over there
- Anyone working here is insured
deverbal prepositions
- baring, including, regarding, considering…
tense, def.
tense is a deictic (it depends…) category, relative to moment of speech and to point of reference
present -past
aspect
expresses perspective of speaker
perfective - continuous
future events
german vs. english
German
Präsens: Ich fahre morgen nach Basel
Futur I werden: Eines Tages wirst Du es auch verstehen.
English
- will future with infinitive (neutral): Manchester will win.
- be going to future (originally prediction and intention, now also neutral): M. is going to win.
- simple present (only for scheduled events): The train leaves at six. ße present progressive (planned events, future as continuation of present): Are you leaving tomorrow?
- will future progressive (future as matter of course): 17 I will be leaving tomorrow.
Perfekt versus present perfect
german vs engl
German
Perfekt
- resultative (no Präteritum possible)
Es hat geschneit. Warte, bis ich gegessen habe.
- narrative (can also be replaced by Präteritum) Gestern haben wir Anne gesehen und sind mit ihr Essen gegangen.
English
present perfect
- universal/continuative use (state up to present)
Jim has worked for them all his life.
Jim has lived in London for two years.
- time reference duration into present today, until now, so far, ever existential presupposition (*Einstein has not seen Ghana)
shared use in G/E
- existential use (bounded time reference in indefinite past)
Have you ever been to Ghana? I have played tennis but not very often.
- resultative perfect
I have lost my keys. Somebody has damaged the boat. - hot news perfect
The Prime Minister has resigned.
external possesors in german
only in g possible
e.g.: er hat mir in die Augen geschaut
(hier auch noch bestimmte bedeutung, würde man nicht von ner Arztuntersuchung sagen)
er hat in meine Augen geschaut = internal, my eyes
possesors, implicit or explicit
German
- often implicit without agreement (to the connected noun)
sie senkte DEN Kopf
er kann mit DEN Ohren wackeln
English
- explicit with agreement (changes w/ modified noun)
she lowered HER head
he can wiggle HIS ears
the students simply shook THEIR heads
common problem concerning sequence of adverbials
german:
time before space
engl:
space before time
non-finite clause examples
Kids like to play on computers. (an infinitival clause using the English to-infinitive)
It’s easy for kids to play on computers. (an infinitival clause containing periphrastic expression of the subject)
Playing on computers, they whiled the day away. (a participial clause, using a present participle)
With the kids playing on their computers, we were able to enjoy some time alone. (a participial clause with a subject)
Having played on computers all day, they were pale and hungry. (a participial clause using a past participle)
Playing on computers is fun. (a gerund-participial clause)
He be playing on computers all the time. (a gerund-participial subjunctive clause)
Participle relative clause
Only in engl.
Example:
I will ask the man sitting over there.
Anyone working here is insured.
participle:
a form of a verb that is used in a sentence to modify a noun, noun phrase, verb, or verb phrase, and plays a role similar to an adjective or adverb.[1] It is one of the types of nonfinite verb forms. Its name comes from the Latin participium,[2] a calque of Greek μετοχή (metokhḗ) “partaking” or “sharing”;[3] it is so named because the Ancient Greek and Latin participles “share” some of the categories of the adjective or noun (gender, number, case) and some of those of the verb (tense and voice).
Gerund
English grammar uses gerund to mean an -ing form used in non-finite clauses such as playing on computers.
Playing on computers is fun. (-ing clause as Subject)
I like playing on computers (-ing clause as Object)
any of various nonfinite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, one that functions as a noun. In English it is a type of verbal noun, one that retains properties of a verb, such as being modifiable by an adverb and being able to take a direct object. The term “-ing form” is often used in English to refer to the gerund specifically. Traditional grammar makes a distinction within -ing forms between present participles and gerunds, a distinction that is not observed in such modern, linguistically informed grammars as A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language and The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.
