Description
In pseudo-partitive syntax, the linking of is one of the immediately apparent differences between Present DayEnglish (PDE) and many other Germanic languages.
(1) Da. et kilo (*af) smør
a kilo of butter
Examples without the ‘linker’ from different stages of English have been noted e.g.
no morsel breed [bread], a paire gloves (Mustanoja 2016 [1960])
There have been various suggestions with respect to the missing ‘linker’:
− In pseudopartitives of is optional, but in real partitives it is not: e.g. couple (of) (Selkirk 1977:308)
− Present Day English is in the process of losing of e.g. couple of e.g. (Klockmann 2017)
− ‘Prepositionless’ constructions have remained in the language since Old English
− (Kjellner 2007)
− Middle English developed a construction without a linker as in (1) and subsequently lost it (Grestenberger 2015)
The aim in this paper is to expand the database and take a closer look at those constructions that have two
juxtaposed prepositions. Are there patterns that may give some insights into the function of of? What can be said
about the measure noun (N1) and its grammaticalisation in [N1 (of) N2] expressions?
| Period | 15 Jun 2022 → 17 Jun 2022 |
|---|---|
| Held at | University of Stuttgart, Germany |
| Degree of Recognition | International |