Kristine Bentzen

What's the better move? On verb placement in Standard and Northern Norwegian

Northern Norwegian (NN) allows verbs to precede adverbs in non-V2 contexts, whereas in Standard Norwegian (StN) verbs have to follow adverbs. These facts are discussed with respect to three different approaches to clausal structure. NN is problematic for a head movement account (cf. Cinque 1999) because multiple verbs may precede a given adverb, leading to violations of the Head Movement Constraint. A multiple positions account (cf. Ernst 2002, Svenonius 2002) would assume that any adverb in StN and NN can be adjoined to high positions, which may be problematic with respect to scope relations. A remnant movement approach (cf. Nilsen 2003) can account for both StN and much of the NN data by means of one generalisation, but a separate generalisation is needed for finite verbs in NN. Thus, all three approaches are faced with challenges with respect to the Norwegian data. However, it is argued that the remnant movement approach seems the most promising of the three approaches.

The degree of verb movement in embedded clauses in three varieties of Norwegian

The position of the verb(s) in embedded non-V2 contexts varies in Norwegian dialects. In Eastern Norwegian (EastN), all verbs have to follow all adverbs in non-V2 contexts. In Tromso Northern Norwegian (TrNN) main verbs and non-finite auxiliaries have to follow all adverbs, but finite auxiliaries may precede adverbs they take scope over. In Regional Northern Norwegian (ReNN) all finite verbs (main/auxiliary) may precede all adverbs, and non-finite auxiliaries may precede adverbs they take scope over. These data are accounted for within a remnant movement approach. The variation between the three dialects is argued to follow from differences in how selectional features on auxiliaries and T are checked. It is suggested that auxiliaries are associated with a pair of functional projections (so-called lifters): a VP lifter below and an AdvP lifter above. An auxiliary with these lifters ‘sinks’ below adverbs it takes scope over. Overt feature checking (through adjacency) occurs when the lifters are present; covert feature checking occurs when the lifters are absent. In EastN, overt feature checking, and the lifters, is obligatory for all auxiliaries; in TrNN this is obligatory for non-finite auxiliaries but optional for finite auxiliaries; in ReNN this is optional for all auxiliaries.

On variation in Faroese verb placement

In this paper, we present and discuss results from an investigation of verb placement in modern Faroese in which we collected data from speakers from a number of different dialect areas in the Faroe Islands. Altogether we interviewed 54 informants, aged 15–67, 29 women and 25 men. Therefore, our study not only investigates the geographical variation claimed to be present in Faroese with respect to verb placement, but also gender and age variation. O ur results indicate that verb movement in non-V2 contexts is no longer commonly available to the speakers of Faroese. However, our results also suggest that verb movement across adverbs like often and already tends to be more acceptable than movement across negation and other adverbs like never and undoubtedly . Furthermore, movement of finite auxiliaries generally receives a slightly higher score than movement of finite main verbs. Our results do not show any differences in the judgements of speakers below and above the age of 25. Contrary to Jonas (1996), we find that speakers in the North are, if anything, more likely to accept verb movement than speakers in the South.

The Acquisition of Apparent Optionality: Word Order in Subject and Object Shift Constructions in Norwegian

This chapter discusses the word order of object shift and so-called subject shift constructions in Norwegian child language. Corpus data from young children (up to the age of approximately 3) show that they produce non-target-consistent word order in these contexts, failing to move pronominal subjects and objects across negation or sentence adverbs. Furthermore, the findings show that target-like word order in subject shift constructions falls into place relatively early (around age 2;6–3;0), while the delay is more persistent in object shift constructions. The paper also provides results of experimental data from somewhat older children which confirm these findings. In order to explain these child data, various factors are considered, e.g. pragmatic principles, prosody, syntactic economy and effects of frequency in the input. The paper concludes that the delay in movement can best be explained by a principle of economy, while the difference between the two constructions is accounted for by reference to input frequency.

Topicality and Complexity in the Acquisition of Norwegian Object Shift

This article investigates the acquisition of object shift in Norwegian child language. We show that object shift is complex derivationally, distributionally, and referentially, and propose a new analysis in terms of IP-internal topicalization. The results of an elicited production study with 27 monolingual Norwegian-speaking children (ages 4;05–7;00) reveal a prolonged delay in the acquisition of object shift with topical individuated pronominal objects. At the same time, we observe target-like placement and prosodic marking of contrastive, possessive, and indefinite pronouns, which do not shift. In our account of the observed delay we refer to the complexity models proposed by Yang (2002, 2004, 2005, 2010) and Hudson Kam & Newport (2005, 2009). In light of Yangs productivity model we argue that not shifting object pronouns is the rule, and OS is the exception. In light of Hudson Kam & Newports approach to complexity, we argue that the children perceive OS as an inconsistent operation.

V-to-I movement in the absence of morphological cues: Evidence from adult and child Northern Norwegian

Several people have pointed out that there seems to be a close correlation between inflectional morphology and verb movement (see e.g. Kosmeijer 1986, Holmberg & Platzack 1988). The nature of this correlation has been claimed to go in both directions. Vikner (1994, 1995) and Rohrbacher (1999) have both suggested that the verb can only move to an inflectional head if the morphology is rich enough. Bobaljik (1995), Thrainsson (1996), and Bobaljik & Thrainsson (1998), on the other hand, argue that the correlation goes in the other direction, i.e. that rich inflection is a reflection of verb movement, rather than the cause for it. A correlation between morphology and verb movement has also been suggested in first language acquisition (Santelmann 1995 on Swedish, Clahsen et al. 1996 on German, Deprez & Pierce 1993, and Meisel 1994 on French). Several of these studies indicate that children use inflectional morphology as a cue for verb movement in the acquisition process, and that they employ verb movement as soon as they acquire verbal inflection. In this paper I will present new data from a dialect of Northern Norwegian which challenge the strong correlation between verb movement and inflectional morphology in both the adult language and in the acquisition of this dialect. More specifically, this dialect appears to have optional independent V-to-I movement despite the fact that the inflectional morphology is very poor. With respect to the acquisition of this dialect, preliminary data from one subject seem to indicate that children to some extent overgeneralise this verb movement pattern into constructions where adult speakers would not allow it.

Norwegian Object Shift as IP-internal topicalization

In this paper we discuss the phenomenon of Object Shift in Norwegian, and we show that this operation is more complex and discourse related than what has traditionally been assumed. We argue that Object Shift cannot be accounted for in a purely prosodic approach. Rather, we demonstrate that a common denominator for all objects undergoing Object Shift is that they are topics. We thus propose that Object Shift should be analysed as (IP-internal) topicalization. Furthermore, we discuss in detail the peculiar behaviour of the topical pronominal object det ‘it’ in cases where its referent is not an individuated, gender-agreeing noun, but rather a non-individuated referent, like a full clause, a VP or a type DP. In such cases, this pronoun typically refrains from Object Shift. We discuss the contrast between these types of objects and shifting objects in light of the topic hierarchy presented in Frascarelli & Hinterholzl (2007) and show that pronominal objects that undergo Object Shift have the characteristics of familiar topics , while det ‘it’ in the nonshifting contexts have the characteristics of aboutness topics . Consequently, we propose that Object Shift only applies to pronominal objects that constitute familiar topics.

Exploring embedded main clause phenomena: The irrelevance of factivity and some challenges from V2 languages

In their target paper, Haegeman and Ürögdi (henceforth H&Ü) discuss the distribution of Main Clause Phenomena (MCP) in complement clauses. They point out that factive complements generally resist MCP, whereas non-factive complements allow them. However, H&Ü argue that it is not factivity as such that determines the distribution of MCP in complements. Rather, referentiality is proposed as the crucial property distinguishing clauses allowing and disallowing MCP (cf. also de Cuba and Ürögdi 2009a,b). In short, they argue that factive complements can be referential (labelled Referential CPs, RCPs), whereas non-factive complements cannot (labelled Non-referential CPs, NCPs). The restriction on MCP in RCPs is accounted for within the operator movement analysis developed for adverbial clauses in Haegeman (2007, 2009a,b, 2010). H&Ü argue that RCPs, in parallel with central adverbial clauses, are derived through operator movement to the CP domain. Argument fronting to the CP domain then leads to intervention effects with this operator and is therefore blocked in RCPs. In this response I will first provide support for the proposal that factivity is not directly relevant for the distribution of MCP. Then I will pose a challenge to H&Ü’s proposal based on embedded V2 in Scandinavian.

Object Shift in spoken Mainland Scandinavian: A corpus study of Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish

Recent work on Object Shift (OS) suggests that this is not as uniform an operation as traditionally assumed. In this paper, we examine OS in the spontaneous speech of adults in large Danish, Norweg ...

Observations on extraction from V2 clauses in Scandinavian

Abstract in Undetermined This short communication presents a general overview of facts concerning wh-extraction from V2 clauses in the Scandinavian languages. While extraction from V2 clauses with a fronted non-subject is impossible in all of these languages, three classes can be distinguished with regard to extraction from subject-initial V2 clauses.