Generalizing Holmberg's Generalization: scrambling and phrase structure in synchronic and diachronic perspective

Joel Wallenberg

UPenn

Abstract:

Holmberg's Generalization (first stated in Holmberg 1986; cf. also Holmberg 1986, Holmberg 1999, Hellan & Platzack 1995, Thráinsson 2003 inter alia) is generally discussed with reference to the "object shift" phenomenon found in the modern Scandinavian languages. In this talk, I argue that Holmberg's Generalization is a special case of a general, cross-linguistic constraint on leftward scrambling. I call this constraint, which disallows leftward scrambling across filled functional heads, the "Generalized Holmberg Constraint" (GHC). The GHC both limits the possible synchronic typology of scrambling languages and makes specific predictions concerning how syntactic systems change over time. During periods of change in the clause structure of a language (such as those which occurred in English and Yiddish), the GHC remains constant even as other aspects of phrase structure change. This causes scrambling in these languages to change immediately in response to changes in the inventory of functional heads. While the talk will focus on historical and modern Germanic, I will also bring evidence from Ancient Greek, Japanese, and the Kru languages that the GHC is, in fact, a linguistic universal. Finally, I will also make a few remarks (and ask for comments) on the relevance of the antisymmetry hypothesis (Kayne 1994) for determining the exact place and formulation of the GHC in the grammar.

References:

Hellan, Lars, and Christer Platzack. 1995. Pronouns in Scandinavian Languages: An Overview. Working Papers in Scandinavian Syntax 56: 47-69.

Holmberg, Anders. 1986. Word order and syntactic features in the Scandinavian languages and English. Ph.D. diss., University of Stockholm.

Holmberg, Anders. 1999. Remarks on Holmberg's Generalization. Studia Linguistica 53, 1: 1-39.

Kayne, Richard S. 1994. The Antisymmetry of Syntax. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Thráinsson, Höskuldur. 2003. Object Shift and Scrambling. In Mark Baltin and Chris Collins eds., The Handbook of Contemporary Syntactic Theory. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Last Modified: February 18, 2008