The Syntax and Semantics of Middle Constructions: A Study with Special Reference to German

Fagan, Sarah M. B.

ISBN 10: 0521410606 / ISBN 13: 9780521410601

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992

About this Item

Hardcover, with a few superficial scores on jacket. Lower edges and upper leading corners of jacket show minor wear; two or three small marks on front and rear boards at upper edge. Lower hardcover edges a little worn. Hardcover spine head a little bumped. Pages bright, sound and clean throughout volume with all text clear. Cambridge Studies in Linguistics series volume 60. TS.

Seller Inventory # 269625

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Syntax and Semantics of Middle Constructions: A Study with Special Reference to German
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521410606
• ISBN 13: 9780521410601
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Book Type: Used
• Seller catalogs:
  • Language & Communication

About this title

Synopsis

This study provides a comprehensive description and analysis of the syntax and semantics of middle constructions in German, including those formed by using the auxiliary lassen 'let'. English and French middles are also treated in depth for comparative purposes. Sarah Fagan argues that middle constructions are not to be accounted for in the syntax, but rather in a bipartite lexicon consisting of Static and Dynamic components. This division of the lexicon helps to clarify the analysis in a number of ways. The author also considers middles in the context of recent work on generics, and examines Vendler's typology of aspectual verb classes in the light of middle formation in German and English. The study addresses a number of issues in the syntax of modern German relevant to our understanding of universal grammar: 1. the appearance of ergative predicates in German: 2. the implications of impersonal clauses in German: and 3. the use of reflexives in argument positions. The value of this study is greatly enhanced by the wealth of language data and descriptive detail given.

Book Description

This study comprehensively describes and analyses the syntax and semantics of German reflexive constructions known as middles (e.g. Das Buch liest sich leicht 'The book reads easily'), including those formed with lassen 'let'. It provides an in-depth comparison of German middles and middle constructions in English and French, and the only detailed account written in English.