Content, Expression and Structure
Studies in Danish functional grammar
Published on 24. May 1996
Book
Hardback
510 pages
978-1-55619-381-1 (ISBN)
Description
This collection of papers offers an alternative to mainstream functional linguistics on two points. Especially in American linguistics, function and structure are often viewed almost as polar opposites; in addition, structure is often understood as being only a matter of linguistic form - or expression - as opposed to content. The book tries to illustrate why function and structure must be understood as mutually dependent in relation to language - and why the most interesting aspect of language structure is the way it structures the content side of language. In this, the book represents a reaffirmation of traditional concerns in structural linguistics, especially with respect to the structural integrity of individual languages - but with a reversal of traditional priority: structure is not autonomous, but must be understood on the basis of function. Without being hostile to typological and universal generalizations, the articles suggest that similarities between languages can only be responsibly discussed on the basis of an understanding that includes a respect for language differences.
The book contains discussions of a number of different languages including Nahuatl, Danish Sign Language, French, and Tlapanec, and focuses on the way meaning is organized in the grammar of Danish. A final section sums up theoretical perspectives.
The book contains discussions of a number of different languages including Nahuatl, Danish Sign Language, French, and Tlapanec, and focuses on the way meaning is organized in the grammar of Danish. A final section sums up theoretical perspectives.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam/Philadelphia
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 245 mm
Width: 164 mm
Weight
810 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-55619-381-1 (9781556193811)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
1. Introduction; 2. Is there a passive in Nahuatl? (by Canger, Una); 3. Grammaticalized focus in Yukagir: Is it really grammaticalized and is it really focus? (by Fortescue, Michael); 4. Iconic motivations in conflict: Language-specific structure and influence from the medium (by Engberg-Pedersen, Elisabeth); 5. The syntax of Danish verbs: Lexical and syntactic transitivity (by Durst-Andersen, Per); 6. From lexical potential to syntactic realization: A Danish verb valency model (by Rasmussen, Lone Schack); 7. Danish directional adverbs: Content syntax and complex predicates - a case for host and co-predicates (by Harder, Peter); 8. Danish passives and subject positions as a mood system: A content analysis (by Heltoft, Lars); 9. Information structure and the anatomy of the noun phrase: The expression of subject and object in Danish noun phrases (by Baron, Irene); 10. Topic continuity and prosody: An experimental study in Danish (by Kristiansen, Erik); 11. Discourse particles in Danish (by Davidsen-Nielsen, Niels); 12. Eh bien: Marker of comparison and contrast (by Mosegaard Hansen, Maj-Britt); 13. The degrammaticalization of agentivity in Tlapanec (by Wichmann, Soren); 14. The functions of locative prepositions (by Spang-Hanssen, Ebbe); 15. Communicative function and language-specific structure in second language acquisition: A discussion of natural sequences of acquisition (by Lund, Karen); 16. Theoretical considerations; 17. Linguistic structure in a functional grammar (by Harder, Peter); 18. Iconicity and arbitrariness (by Engberg-Pedersen, Elisabeth); 19. Paradigmatic structure, word order and grammaticalization (by Heltoft, Lars); 20. Subject index; 21. Index of names