Different Types of Small Clauses and Their Analysis

A Comparison of English and German

Hausarbeit , 2003 , 20 Seiten , Note: 1

Anglistik - Linguistik

In this term paper, I will deal with some aspects of Small Clause (SC) analysis in English. The first chapter will explain what SCs are and present a general overview of their position in sentences. Furthermore I will briefly introduce a controversial analysis and consider the advantages of the SC analysis, as opposed to a predication analysis for example. Therefore several constituent tests will be applied to show that SCs can really function as syntactic units. Some semantic aspects will also be discussed to prove that they should be treated as units.
In the next chapter I will introduce different types of SCs. German will be considered as well and a comparison of both English and German SCs will be presented. The argument for the existence of German SCs is very similar to the English. For this reason I will not present the line of reasoning once more but simply assume the same syntactical phenomenon for German as well (for a more detailed analysis of German Small Clauses see Staudinger 1997: 111-115). It will be argued that English offers some more possible constructions with SCs than German. This observation leads to the conclusion that there are some significant differences between the two languages.
In a last step a possible analysis for the internal structure of Small Clauses will be presented. The need for a special analysis will be explained with respect to case-assignment. Then the suggested analysis will be applied to the presented types in unmarked word order to see if it is appropriate in practice. I will focus mainly on English here because an analysis of German SCs has to put up with different problems. Some of these struggles will also be discussed here.
In the conclusion the results of the previous chapters will be summarized. In addition some ideas for further research beyond the content of this paper will be given.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Introduction
• What is a Small Clause?
• Different Types of Small Clauses in English and German
  • Small Clauses as Complements to Verbs.
  • Small Clauses as Complements to Prepositions...........
  • Independent Small Clauses
  • Small Clauses as Adjuncts
  • Small Clauses as Subjects
  • Resultative Small Clauses
  • The different Small Clauses in German and English .
• The Inner Structure of Small Clauses…..........
  • Analysis of Small Clauses with Aarts (1992)
  • Analysis of the Different Types of Small Clauses in English......
  • Analysis of the Different Types of Small Clauses in German ..
• Conclusion......
• Bibliography.

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This term paper aims to explore various aspects of Small Clause (SC) analysis in English. The paper will delve into the definition of SCs, their position within sentences, and the advantages of SC analysis compared to other approaches. It will also examine different types of SCs in both English and German, highlighting their similarities and differences. Finally, the paper will propose an analysis for the internal structure of SCs, focusing on English and addressing some challenges related to German SCs.

• Definition and characteristics of Small Clauses
• Different types of Small Clauses in English and German
• Comparison of SC constructions in English and German
• Analysis of the internal structure of Small Clauses
• Challenges and limitations of SC analysis

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The first chapter introduces the concept of Small Clauses (SCs), which are clauses lacking an overt verb. It presents a general overview of their structure and position in sentences, arguing that SCs function as syntactic units. The chapter also discusses the advantages of SC analysis over other approaches, such as predication analysis, and explores semantic aspects that support the notion of SCs as units.

The second chapter delves into different types of SCs in English and German, comparing their constructions and highlighting significant differences between the two languages. It argues that English offers a wider range of SC constructions than German, suggesting that there are some fundamental differences in the way these languages handle SCs.

The third chapter focuses on the internal structure of SCs, proposing an analysis that addresses case-assignment issues. The proposed analysis is applied to the different types of SCs in unmarked word order, demonstrating its practical applicability. The chapter also discusses challenges related to analyzing German SCs.

Schlüsselwörter

The keywords and focus themes of the text include Small Clauses, verbless clauses, syntactic units, constituent tests, English grammar, German grammar, comparative linguistics, internal structure, case-assignment, and thematic roles.

• Hochschule: Philipps-Universität Marburg (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik)
• Veranstaltung: Proseminar Syntax
• Note: 1
• Autor: Eric Weidner (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2003
• Seiten: 20
• Katalognummer: V127135
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640335565
• ISBN (Buch): 9783640335114
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: Different, Types, Small, Clauses, Their, Analysis, Comparison, English, German