Two-Verb Clusters in Mennonite Low German: The Impact of Auxiliary Verb and Clause Type
Although verb clusters in Continental West Germanic varieties are a well-researched topic, their derivation and the possible functions of their variants are still not yet fully understood. Both issues are discussed in the present paper, which is based on the translations of 46 English, Spanish, or P...
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2025-04-01
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| author | Göz Kaufmann |
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| description | Although verb clusters in Continental West Germanic varieties are a well-researched topic, their derivation and the possible functions of their variants are still not yet fully understood. Both issues are discussed in the present paper, which is based on the translations of 46 English, Spanish, or Portuguese stimulus sentences by 321 North and South American speakers of Mennonite Low German. In order to analyze the variation in clause-final two-verb clusters, we focus on three structural factors, namely (i) the auxiliary verb, (ii) the structural link between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, and (iii) the type of the subordinate clause in which the cluster occurs. Regarding the first and the second factor, we will employ the cartographic approach in order to explain the impact of different auxiliary verbs. Regarding the third factor, it is somewhat surprising that the potential effect of the subordinate clause on the distribution of different cluster variants has received little attention in the research literature. Clause type will be shown to have such an effect and, therefore, we will assume that the speakers of MLG use different variants deliberately to indicate different degrees of clausal integration. |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-b0b111058fda49d0912497bebf23cfff2025-08-20T01:56:24ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2025-04-011059510.3390/languages10050095Two-Verb Clusters in Mennonite Low German: The Impact of Auxiliary Verb and Clause TypeGöz Kaufmann0Department of German Linguistics, University of Freiburg, Platz der Universität 3, 79085 Freiburg, GermanyAlthough verb clusters in Continental West Germanic varieties are a well-researched topic, their derivation and the possible functions of their variants are still not yet fully understood. Both issues are discussed in the present paper, which is based on the translations of 46 English, Spanish, or Portuguese stimulus sentences by 321 North and South American speakers of Mennonite Low German. In order to analyze the variation in clause-final two-verb clusters, we focus on three structural factors, namely (i) the auxiliary verb, (ii) the structural link between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, and (iii) the type of the subordinate clause in which the cluster occurs. Regarding the first and the second factor, we will employ the cartographic approach in order to explain the impact of different auxiliary verbs. Regarding the third factor, it is somewhat surprising that the potential effect of the subordinate clause on the distribution of different cluster variants has received little attention in the research literature. Clause type will be shown to have such an effect and, therefore, we will assume that the speakers of MLG use different variants deliberately to indicate different degrees of clausal integration.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/10/5/95Mennonite Low Germanverb clusterscartographic approachauxiliary verbsclausal integration |
| spellingShingle | Göz Kaufmann Two-Verb Clusters in Mennonite Low German: The Impact of Auxiliary Verb and Clause Type Languages Mennonite Low German verb clusters cartographic approach auxiliary verbs clausal integration |
| title | Two-Verb Clusters in Mennonite Low German: The Impact of Auxiliary Verb and Clause Type |
| title_full | Two-Verb Clusters in Mennonite Low German: The Impact of Auxiliary Verb and Clause Type |
| title_fullStr | Two-Verb Clusters in Mennonite Low German: The Impact of Auxiliary Verb and Clause Type |
| title_full_unstemmed | Two-Verb Clusters in Mennonite Low German: The Impact of Auxiliary Verb and Clause Type |
| title_short | Two-Verb Clusters in Mennonite Low German: The Impact of Auxiliary Verb and Clause Type |
| title_sort | two verb clusters in mennonite low german the impact of auxiliary verb and clause type |
| topic | Mennonite Low German verb clusters cartographic approach auxiliary verbs clausal integration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/10/5/95 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gozkaufmann twoverbclustersinmennonitelowgermantheimpactofauxiliaryverbandclausetype |