This volume, the fifth in the series Case and Grammatical Relations across Languages, is devoted to genitive constructions in a range of Indo-European languages (Russian, French, Romanian, German and Swedish), as well as Finnish, Bantu languages and Northern Akhvakh (Northeast Caucasian). Definitions of genitives typically start out from the notion of an inflectional marker, often suffixal, that marks dependency relations of a noun phrase with respect to another noun phrase and conveys possessive meaning. The contributions in this volume demonstrate a huge range of variation in genitives, semantically (from possessive meaning to generalized dependency), morphologically (from affixes to different types of clitics) and syntactically (from adnominal uses to argument relations and adjunct uses). The volume contains both general surveys of genitives and case studies of the semantics, pragmatics and historical development of specific genitive constructions. It will be of interest to scholars and students in syntax, semantics, morphology, typology, and historical linguistics.

This book examines the evidence for the development of adnominal genitives (the knight's sword, the nun's priest's tale, etc.) in English. During the Middle English period the genitive inflection -es developed into the more clitic-like 's, but how, when, why, and over how long a time are unclear, and have been subject to considerable research and discussion. Cynthia L. Allen draws together her own and others' findings in areas such as case marking, the nature of syntactic and morphological change, and the role of processing and pragmatics in the construction of grammars and grammatical change. Using evidence derived from a systematic examination of a wide range of texts, Dr Allen reviews the evidence for the nature of the possessive inflection in earlier stages of English and the relationship of the -es possessive to the 'his genitive. In doing so she shows that Middle English texts are more reliable witnesses to the grammar of Middle English than has sometimes been assumed. The texts may have been conservative, but their language, the author argues, is reasonable reflection of the spoken language, and where the written evidence runs counter to typological generalization about syntactic change it may be the latter, not the former, which is in need of qualification. While the book focuses on Middle English it also contains discussions of linguistic change before and since, and draws on comparative evidence from other languages, particularly Germanic languages such as Swedish and Dutch. This ground-breaking book will be of great interest to scholars and students of Middle English in particular and the history of English in general.

The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

The papers in this volume focus on the dynamics of one specific cell in morphological paradigms – the genitive. The high amount of diachronic and synchronic variation in all Germanic languages makes the genitive a particularly interesting phenomenon since it allows us, for example, to examine comparable but slightly different diachronic pathways, the relation of synchronic and diachronic variation, and the interplay of linguistic levels (phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics). The findings in this book enhance our understanding of the genitive not only by describing its properties, but also by discussing its demarcation from functional competitors and related grammatical items. Under-researched aspects of well-described languages as well as from lesser-known languages (Faroese, Frisian, Luxembourgish, Yiddish) are examined. The papers included are methodologically diverse and the topics covered range from morphology, syntax, and semantics to the influence of (normative) grammars and the perception and prestige of grammatical items.

This volume presents a study of the phenomenon of dialect levelling, the process of the reduction of structural variation. This process affects variation both in the cross-dialectal and in the dialectal-standard language dimension (in German dialectology referred to as Ausgleich and Abbau, respectively). The study is based on a research project on an originally rural Limburg dialect of Dutch. On the basis of a survey of the relatively rare relevant literature, a sociolinguistic model of dialect levelling is developed. A model is also proposed for embedding the study of this special type of linguistic change in formal phonological theory; this model centres on the role of the syllable in phonological processes. After a sketch of the social history and the dialect situation of the research area as well as an exposition of the methodology, descriptions and (mainly formal) explanations of the 21 dialect features at issue are presented. The approach is basically sociolinguistic and the analysis of the fieldwork data primarily quantitative. The patterns that emerge in the processes of the levelling out of the dialect features are related to both internal and external factors. In accounting for the findings, methods and insights from historical linguistics, dialectology as well as (linear and non-linear) phonological theory play an important role. After a discussion of the findings, the outlines are sketched of a theory of dialect levelling. The possibilities as well as some of the problems are discussed of an integration of the study of language variation and change on the hand and formal linguistic theory on the other.

The book is the most comprehensive account of the phonology of Danish ever published in any language. It gives a clear analysis of the sound patterns of modern Danish and examines the relations between its speech sounds and grammar. The author develops new models for the analysis of phonology and morphology-phonology interactions, and shows how these may be applied to Danish and to other languages. Danish has an unusually rich vowel system and exhibits radical reduction processes that make it difficult for foreigners to understand. The sound pattern is equally challenging for the analyst. Professor Basbøll develops a non-circular model for the sonority syllable and applies it to Danish phonotactics. He presents a radically new and insightful analysis of stød, a syllable accent which has a complex grammatical distribution and is unique among the world ́s languages. He also describes syllabic and word structures, and stress and intonation. The book is fully referenced and indexed. It will be widely welcomed by phonologists and scholars of Danish, and is likely to become the standard account of Danish phonology.

Designed as a contribution to contrastive linguistics, the present volume brings up-to-date the comparison of German with its closest neighbour, Dutch, and other Germanic relatives like English, Afrikaans, and the Scandinavian languages. It takes its inspiration from the idea of a "Germanic Sandwich", i.e. the hypothesis that sets of genetically related languages diverge in systematic ways in diverse domains of the linguistic system. Its contributions set out to test this approach against new phenomena or data from synchronic, diachronic and, for the first time in a Sandwich-related volume, psycholinguistic perspectives. With topics ranging from nickname formation to the IPP (aka 'Ersatzinfinitiv'), from the grammaticalisation of the definite article to /s/-retraction, and from the role of verb-second order in the acquisition of L2 English to the psycholinguistics of gender, the volume appeals to students and specialists in modern and historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, translation studies, language pedagogy and cognitive science, providing a wealth of fresh insights into the relationships of German with its closest relatives while highlighting the potential inherent in the integration of different methodological traditions.