Non-Projecting Words / A Case Study of Swedish Particles

Focusing primarily on Swedish, a Germanic language whose particles have not previously been studied extensively, this study develops a theory of non-projecting words in which particles are morphologically independent words that do not project phrases. It identifies the violations of the basic tenets of X-bar theory and develops a formally explicit revision of X-bar theory that can accommodate the requisite "weak" projections.

From the reviews:

"In this book, Toivonen has produced an exceptionally lucid document, one that I do not hesitate to recommend to students and colleagues ... this is that rare volume that contributes to linguistic theory while being highly accessible. The book furthermore strikes an exemplary balance between description and analysis; it is rich in clearly organized and insightfully presented data ... . This book makes an important contribution." (Peter Svenonius, Language, Vol. 84 (3), 2008)