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Negation in C: The Syntax of Negated Verbs in Old Norse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2008

Thórhallur Eythórsson
Thórhallur Eythórsson
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K. E-mail: tolli@man.ac.uk
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Abstract

The syntax of finite verbs with the negation suffix -a/-at in early Old Norse reveals an asymmetry regarding the position of the verb relative to the subject in main clauses. The subject is regularly preceded by the negated verb, but followed by the verb in affirmative clauses. The asymmetry suggests that the subject is canonically in SpecIP. In affirmative subject-initial main clauses the finite verb moves to I, but the negated verbs obligatorily move to C. The movement of negated verbs to C is triggered by a [+neg] feature in this position. This assumption is independently motivated by the existence of the overt and non-overt negative complementizers in a variety of languages. The analysis advanced here supports the hypothesis that cross-linguistically sentential negation can be structurally represented in C.

Type
Articles
Information
Nordic Journal of Linguistics , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , December 2002 , pp. 190 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002

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