w-Connectors: Theory und Diachrony of adverbial w-Elements in German
Project description
The project deals with the diachronic investigation of w-elements as subordinating linkersin German. It assumes a development of w-elements that, in the earliest stages of the
language, functioned as w-pronouns serving as interrogatives and indefinites. Over time, the
function of these w-elements extended to free relative clauses and later to attributive relative
clauses. In the case of w-adverbs (e.g., wie "how", wo "where", wenn "when") and wprepositional adverbs (e.g., wobei "whereby", wohingegen "whereas"), this diachronic
development also led, starting in the early modern period, to their use in introducing
adverbial clauses. The aim of the project is to systematically analyze the historical
development of these elements, considering both qualitative and quantitative aspects as well
as possible reasons for their spread at the expense of d-forms. A theoretical model will be
developed that incorporates recent findings from generative approaches regarding the
structure and properties of w-elements, and embeds the historical data into a restrictive
theory of polyfunctional elements. The research project consists of two sub-projects: At the
University of Göttingen, the focus is on w-elements in adverbial clauses. The University of
Bochum is investigating w-elements in relative clauses.