Germanic *maþl- ‘council, court of law, tribunal, popular assembly, (public) speech, verbal (interpersonal) agreement’ is clearly a central piece of institutional vocabulary, but its etymology and, hence, its further cultural associations have long remained cryptic. It is argued that there is but one formally comparable and semantically contiguous form as a conceivable source for a Gmc. *maþl-, and that is Etruscan meθlum.

According to Hesselman's Law, lengthenings in closed syllables (CSL) precede lengthenings in open syllables (OSL). This paper surveys dialectal and philological evidence from North Germanic and Upper German in support of Hesselman's Law. The paper argues that CSL serves as a catalyst for OSL. After CSL, short vowels are always followed by long consonants and short consonants are always preceded by long vowels in stressed heavy syllables, a pattern consistent with crosslinguistic tendencies for V/C duration ratios. OSL occurs when language learners extend the pattern by lengthening short vowels followed by heterosyllabic short consonants. The Moraic Preservation Principle (MPP) accounts for the precedence of CSL over OSL despite the preference for bimoraic stressed syllables in Germanic known as Prokosch's Law. A generalization of the Moraic Conservation Principle proposed by Hayes (1989), the MPP states that lengthening processes preserve mora count. CSL does not violate MPP since it results in a bimoraic syllable remaining bimoraic. However, OSL constitutes a violation of MPP by adding to the mora count of the word.I would like to thank two anonymous JGL reviewers and Mark Louden for helpful comments and suggestions.

German impersonal constructions manifest an array of morphosyntactic properties, such as so-called expletive dummy subjects, 3rd person singular verb agreement, and, in some cases, experiencer nominals bearing “quirky” case (usually dative), that have traditionally been regarded as purely accidental, idiosyncratic, or semantically vacuous. This article argues that these properties typically associated with impersonal constructions in German can be semantically motivated and explained within the theoretical framework of Cognitive Grammar (see Langacker 1987a, 1991a, 1991b). Within this framework, it is assumed that morphosyntactic markers are meaningful and polysemous: they are complex conceptual categories with distinct but related senses radiating from a prototypical sense. As a result, impersonal constructions and their component substructures are seen to be meaningful in their own right in reflecting a particular way of construing a scene, rather than as epiphenomena of autonomous syntactic processes.I would like to acknowledge the perceptive and helpful feedback of the anonymous JGL reviewers. I have tried to follow their suggestions wherever possible. Of course, I take full responsibility for any errors or lack of clarity that may remain.

This article investigates the diachrony of the adnominal genitive in written German by analyzing its usage in a diachronic corpus of sermons from the Upper German dialect area spanning the time from the 9th to the 19th century. The wide temporal scope allows for a better assessment of the events relating to the genitive’s disappearance from spoken German in Early New High German and the successive rise of its adnominal form in written German. Sermons make it possible to study the phenomenon over a long time because they provide a relatively consistent data basis in terms of genre and region. At the same time, as a genre that has characteristics of both spoken and written language, sermons show signs of changing stylistic trends, which makes them valuable for gaining insights in the divergent development of genitive use in spoken and written German. In order to characterize this divergence better, I use the concept of polarization, which describes the differentiation of linguistic usage between disparate contexts such as speech and writing. It becomes clear that the changes in genitive use found in the corpus cannot be viewed independently of sociopragmatic factors and their impact on the stylistic shape of the texts.*

This paper examines the socio-historical context in which Dutch arose as a result of contact between Frankish and Ingvæonic speakers in the seventh and eighth centuries. I first consider some persistent pitfalls in socio-historical linguistics with regard to better-known instances of language contact in medieval Europe. I review the reflexes of umlaut in Dutch and propose a solution for this long-standing problem in terms of language contact. Finally, the linguistic analysis is placed in a social and historical context, with special attention to the role of slavery in creating the context for the linguistic developments that took place.*

This study presents a micro-typological description of German dialects, focusing on the structure of 13,492 tokens of monosyllables, across 182 locations within Germany. Based on data from the Phonetischer Atlas der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, systematic geographical differences in both the segmental and prosodic organization of syllables are explored. The analysis reveals a North–South contrast in the organization of syllable structure. While the North tends toward more simple CVC syllables, the South tends toward the clustering of obstruents. An analysis of sonority dispersion reveals that in southern German, final demisyllables tend to follow more closely the sonority scale. Based on Markov chain models, the study reveals geographical differences in transition probabilities between the segments within monosyllables in German dialects.*

This paper analyzes the semantic structure of the German spatial particle über based on the principles of Cognitive Linguistics. By applying the Polysemy Network Model (Tyler and Evans 2003), thirteen distinct senses of über are identified and conceptual connections between them are elucidated. Furthermore, the semantic structure of English over (the closest counterpart of über) established by Tyler and Evans is expanded, and additional criteria for determining the primary and other distinct senses are proposed. Finally, the network of senses for über is applied to its functions as a separable or inseparable prefix in an attempt to provide insights into the issues of prefix (in)separability in German and to account for the meaning of über in a unified manner.

In this paper evidence for the phonological status of the velar nasal in Older Germanic is reviewed with particular reference to the innovation in the runes of a character for the sound. It is demonstrated that none of this evidence presents an unambiguous solution to whether the velar nasal is phonemic or phonetic. However, by taking the mapping processes that occurred during the invention of the runes as one of “prototypically significant sound” to character, a sufficient reason for the innovation of this rune is proposed.*

The paper presents an analysis of noun inflection in Modern Standard German within a process framework. Familiar issues in the description of German inflectional morphology are discussed, such as analysis of weak nouns and of plural formation, and the establishment of inflectional classes, as well as broader theoretical issues such as postulation of identity relations (“zeros”). The elements of a process morphology are elaborated, including some that deviate from well-known models, such as recognition of a dynamic morphological component distinct from the static lexicon, expression of morphological semantics in the morphological component, and formalization of the notion of a paradigm. The paradigm is claimed to be an essential morphological structure, dynamic in nature, responsible for organization of the inflectional system and ensuring, in cooperation with operations applied to stems, correct sequencing and selection of these inflectional operations. It is also concluded that the inflectional class, derivative of the paradigm, may be a useful construct in some languages (including German), but is not a necessary one for all inflecting languages.

This article presents a synchronic, corpus-based examination of spoken German with regard to the distribution and function of presentational/ existential es gibt NP and a range of SEIN NP structures such as da SEIN, locative SEIN, es SEIN, and zero-locative SEIN. In particular, the use of da SEIN has been neglected in previous research. While es gibt is equally frequent in the spoken and written data, SEIN structures are typical of spoken German only, with da SEIN being the most frequent. The article concentrates on clauses with indefinite NPs, while the presentation of events with da and wider da-usage in spoken German are also considered.*

I discuss the following three topics with respect to German particle verbs with a ground argument. First, I consider the difference between anlächeln and zulächeln ‘smile at’ in German. In the former the accusative argument represents a ground, whereas in the latter the dative argument is licensed by inalienable semantics. Second, I discuss why a ground can be expressed by a dative in the German verb zueilen ‘hurry toward’, whereas in the corresponding Dutch verb toesnelln the preposition naar or op ‘to’ is necessary. This difference is due to the fact that German has a low dative. Finally, I consider the question of why expressions like ∗pour the glass in or ∗load the truck on are not allowed in English, whereas the corresponding expressions are possible in German and Dutch. This results from a difference in the syntactic structure of particle verbs in the languages.*

The long-term practice of translating within a social context where both a dominant and receding language are spoken promotes linguistic convergence: speakers alter grammatical structures of the receding language to match the structures of the dominant language. During individual acts of translating, speakers often resort to two enabling strategies: the speaker attempts structures which are no longer regularly used in the community and thereby promotes the maintenance of conservative norms; or the speaker uses the language being translated as a model and thereby contributes toward convergence. In both cases, translation biases language forms and produces an inaccurate picture of the language skills current in the speech community. Evidence is provided from translated and free discourse in two Pennsylvania German communities: among nonsectarians, where Pennsylvania German is dying, and among Amish and Men-nonite sectarians, where Pennsylvania German continues to be used for daily discourse.

The article* shows that the Germanic-Gothic word for book was originally an athematic stem and that its etymology may lead to one or more of the Eurasian languages which were Indoeuropeanized and thus became Germanic.

This paper examines grammatical gender from the sociolinguistic perspective. The question pursued is to what extent exponents of grammatical gender are tied indexically to identity categories. Building on literature and corpus data, I claim that within the Norwegian context, grammatical gender is associated with sociolinguistic dimensions such as the urban/rural distinction, political views, class, ethnicity. The traditional three-gender system is being replaced by a two-gender system in several dialects, resulting in the loss of the feminine gender. Indexical values associated with the feminine gender features are still valid, though, and some forms take on new pragmatic functions. Once grammatical gender is viewed through a sociolinguistic lens, with the agency of speakers being recognized, it becomes clear that it may not be fully understood without taking into account the context of interaction at a micro-level, and the sociohistorical characteristics of—for instance—regions with language contact at a macro-level.*

A major recent development in minimalist syntactic theory concerns phrase structure. Kayne (1994) claims that all phrases are binary, asymmetric, and left-headed. The implications of this restrictive theory for coordination as a syntactic phenomenon are quite broad. Most significantly, coordination can no longer be represented as the union of symmetrical conjuncts; rather, conjuncts are projections of the conjunction, a head, and stand in an asymmetric relation to each other.

All scholars think that they express themselves clearly; they also expect that their arguments will carry immediate conviction. Polemical notes show how mistaken they are. In this rejoinder I will attempt to clarify my position and add a few new arguments.

This article provides an overview of Jugendsprache, youth language, as spoken in the German Democratic Republic, a variety far less studied than its West German cousin. Attitudes toward and perceptions of GDR youth language are treated, showing far greater diversity than previous Western discussions have found. More importantly, this study provides empirical data from a variety of sources for a sociolect previously largely lacking such evidence.

OE ge- functions synchronically as a proclitic, contrary to widely held views. This morphological status is an integral part of a broader diachronic pattern in Germanic, namely grammaticalization of an old particle to a prefix. OE g e- provides a clear example of grammaticalization. Following its path from Proto-Indo-European adverbial to Old English proclitic, and from its near grammaticalization as a past participle marker and subsequent loss, one can see easily the cline of grammaticalization.