Reviewed by Jan Schroten, Utrecht University

This monograph proposes a syntactic derivation of demonstratives and definite articles and the semantic derivation of restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses in the Scandinavian languages. Furthermore, the strong/weak alternation of adjectival inflection in German is analyzed.

Ch.1 sketches the relation between the definite article and demonstratives in universal grammar and in the history of Scandinavian languages. The basic descriptive model is the minimalist generative approach. The Determiner Phrase (DP), the home of the definite article and the demonstratives, is given in cartographic fashion in hierarchical order: DP, Cardinal Number Phrase (CardP), Agreement Phrase (AgrP), Article Phrase (ArtP), Number Phrase (NumP), light noun Phrase (nP), and NP. The definite article is the head of ArtP and the demonstrative is analyzed as a phrase located in the Specifier of ArtP.

Ch. 2 investigates the syntactic distribution of these determiners in historical and contemporary varieties of the Scandinavian languages. The conversion of the demonstrative into a definite article in the history of the Scandinavian (and other) languages is discussed. The different positions of these determiners in different variants are accounted for by positing two agreement domains in DP. The two domains account for the ‘split’ definite article: one part is found on the noun, the other higher up when an AP blocks movement from ArtP to DP. This is found in historical and contemporary Scandinavian languages. Agreement domains like ArtP block movement from ArtP to D and give rise to different phases, each needing part of the ‘split up’ definite article.

Ch. 3 treats the syntax and semantics of restrictive/non-restrictive modification, mainly by relative clauses in the Scandinavian languages. The author proposes that interpretation is done at different stages in the derivation of a DP modified by a relative clause. The derivations involve successive copies of the ‘low’ article originating in ArtP, analyzed at different points where restrictive or non-restrictive interpretation applies.

Ch. 4 treats the strong/weak alternation in German adjectival inflection, as in der gute Wein ‘the good wine’ and ein guter Wein ‘a good wine’, with weak gute following the definite article while strong guter following the indefinite article. The definite article is ‘strong’, with concomitant weakening of the adjectival inflection; the indefinite article is ‘weak’, leaving the strong adjectival inflection intact. The author claims that a strong determiner at the left edge of DP is the result of repeated copying of a strong determiner, with ‘impoverishment’ effects on the adjectival inflection, which is weakened. As weak determiners have no impoverishment effects, the adjective has its basic strong form.

Ch. 5 briefly summarizes the analyses and proposals.