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Asymmetrical Intercalation in Germanic Complex Verbs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2020

Thomas Berg
Thomas Berg*
Affiliation:
University of Hamburg
*
Department of English, University of Hamburg, Überseering 35, 22297 Hamburg, Germany [thomas_berg@uni-hamburg.de]
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Abstract

A shared feature of the Germanic languages is the occurrence of complex verbs consisting of the verb itself and what I refer to as the adverbal unit (AU). I examine the nature of the units that can be inserted into such complex verbs and compare intercalation patterns in AU-Vs and V-AUs. AU-Vs are found to be much more resistant to intercalation than V-AUs. The former accommodate the past participle marker, the infinitival linker, and—less commonly—verbs, whereas the latter accommodate NPs, ADVPs, and—less commonly—both phrase types concurrently. Thus, V-AUs may be split by more syntactic as well as heavier material than AU-Vs. I argue that this difference in cohesiveness is due to varying degrees of coactivation of Vs and AUs. The constituents of AU-Vs show a higher degree of coactivation than those of V-AUs. Adverbal units depend for their activation on the prior activation of verbs more than verbs depend for their activation on the prior activation of adverbal units. These different activation patterns lead to different degrees of cohesiveness and hence to different intercalation possibilities in the two verb types. Although intercalation is compulsory in some contexts, it proves to be a dispreferred option.*

Keywords

phrasal verbscohesivenessmorpheme ordercoactivationintercalation
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Germanic Linguistics , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , June 2020 , pp. 107 - 144
Copyright
© Society for Germanic Linguistics 2020

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Footnotes

*

Papers like this one crucially rely on the advice of native speakers, linguists, and language teachers. Being given so patiently of their advice is a rewarding and gratifying experience. The following advisors deserve special mention: Glenda Goldschmidt-Lechner (Afrikaans), Willem Visser (West Frisian), Jarich Hoekstra (North Frisian), Höskuldur Thráinsson (Icelandic), Jógvan i Lon Jacobsen (Faroese), Hans-Olaf Enger (Norwegian), Anne-Lena Jansåker (Swedish), Merle Dickau (Danish) as well as Kurt Braunmüller, who was always up to providing answers to my persistent questions about Scandinavian. The Norwegian analysis would probably not have materialized if it had not been for Maximilian Thurm’s unfailing assistance. The paper has greatly profited from the constructive criticism I received from Jarich Hoekstra, Winfried Boeder, and the anonymous JGL reviewers. My heartfelt thanks to all.

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