Postverbal negation

Studies in Language, vol. 45, pp. 499–519

Abstract

Abstract The paper sketches the state of affairs of our understanding of postverbal negation. It departs from the typological finding that there is a cross-linguistic preference for a negator to precede the verb. Nevertheless, a sizable proportion of the world’s languages adhere to a pattern with a negator following the verb, and such negators are typically morphologically bound. The existence of this pattern, unfavorable from a functional perspective, calls for a diachronic explanation. The paper takes stock of diachronic processes that can lead to postverbal negation, in general, and suffixal negation, in particular. Furthermore, a language may acquire a pattern with postverbal negation through language contact, and this is yet another perspective that the paper addresses. Finally, we introduce the contributions to this volume, highlighting the new insights.

Authors 3

1. Olga Krasnoukhova Aachen

   Leiden University · University of Antwerp

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University

   University of Antwerp

2. Johan van der Auwera

   University of Antwerp

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Antwerp

3. Mily Crevels Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University