The Analysis of the Ordering in Noun Phrase Structures in German

Document Type : مقالات علمی پژوهشی

Author
K. Bahrami
Department of German Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.52547/LRR.13.6.11
Abstract
The present study seeks to investigate noun phrase structures and the ordering of their constituents in German. In German, noun phrase dependents can be placed on both sides of the head. This feature adds to the complexity of the order of the noun phrase structure. One of the aims of this study, which is descriptive, is to find out whether the ordering of the constituents on both sides of a noun phrase follows any rules or that such ordering is arbitrary. The results indicate that the constituents which are placed on the left side of the head agree with it, while such agreement does not exist in the constituents on the right side of the head. The paper also gives some examples of noun phrase structures that are in contrast with the existing categories and determines why these contrasts exist. Finally, we will argue that the reason for some inconsistencies in adjective inflection in a noun phrase is the syntactic order of constituents in the noun phrase.

Introduction

A noun phrase is a phrase that has a noun or pronoun as its head. It is deemed to be one word (i.e., a noun or a pronoun) or expand through the words placed on the right or left side of the head. What further complicates the noun phrases in German is the fact that they can be expended from both sides of the head, which is not observed in most languages. This feature raises the question about which constituents stand on the right side of the head and which ones stand on the left side. This study sought to investigate whether the ordering of the constituents of a noun phrase follows a pattern or it is arbitrary, and if there is a pattern, what rules apply to the ordering of the constituents. It also aimed at finding out if there is a pattern for the arrangement of adjectives on the left side of the head. The assumption was that while there exist a hierarchy and rules in the arrangement of the constituents/structures in both sides of a noun phrase, these rules are sometimes violated. It was also assumed that the inconsistencies declension of adjective in a noun phrase are due to the different syntactic positions of the constituents of a noun phrase.




Literature Review

Dürscheid (2012), in his book entitled "The Syntax of German", has devoted a section to the introduction of the noun phrase in German. In addition to enumerating the constituents placed on the right and left side of the head of a noun phrase, he discusses the internal structure of a noun phrase. Musan (2013), in a book titled "Analysis of the Functional Components of a Sentence", in the section related to descriptors, refers to the noun phrase in this syntactic role and provides examples in this respect. Sahel (2018) also discusses the noun phrase and its characteristics in his book, titled “Grammatical Case”, in the section related to case markers.




Methodology

In the present study, using the descriptive-analytical approach, in addition to introducing the expanding constituents on both sides of the head in a noun phrase, we discuss the characteristics of each of these constituents. Moreover, we will show that the ordering of adjectives on the left side of the head is regular and follows a hierarchy. We will also discuss the factors which affect the marking of the grammatical case in the noun phrase. In this regard, an attempt is made to resolve some of the contradictions that can be observed in grammatical case marking. It is worth mentioning that the present paper comprises the selective collection of examples from reference and educational books in the field of German Linguistics and German Language Teaching. In the final part of this paper, the results of a test conducted with the participants in the two experimental and control groups will demonstrate that the awareness of language learners about the complex structures of the noun phrase in German and the explanation of the expanding constituents before and after the head will lead to the construction of grammatical sentences by the learners.




Results

In the first part of this article, the structure of the noun phrase and the order of its constituents on both sides of the head was shown. It was observed that according to Behagel's law, shorter structures and constituents are placed before longer ones on both sides of the head. Also, the hypothesis stating that the constituents that agree with the head are placed on the left side of the head while those without agreement are put on the right side of the head of the noun phrase was confirmed. Some examples contradicting with the hierarchies and patterns presented in the past were also listed. The possibility of placing restrictive appositive as well as adjectives on both sides of the head are some of the notable examples. It was observed that although adjectives agree with the head, they are also located on the right side of it. In the section related to the order of different types of adjectives on the left side of the head, it was shown that the more limited the use of the adjective, the closer the adjective is to the noun and its definite article, and the more comprehensive the use of the adjective (including predicative, adverbial, attributive), the further its distance from the noun and its definitive article will be. In the final part of the article, in addition to the issue of singularity, which is rooted in the principle of linguistic economy, it was demonstrated that while declension applies to the noun phrase as a phrase, it is only one constituent that marks the grammatical case. Also, this section provided reasons for the cases in which there were contradictions in the declension of adjectives. It was found that the reason for the different declension observed in some noun phrases is the different syntactic position of their constituent elements. In the final part of the article, through a test conducted with participants in two experimental and control groups, the assumption stating that the learners' awareness of the complex structures of the noun phrases in German and the explanation of the expanding constituents before and after the head will lead to the construction of grammatical sentences by learners was confirmed.

Keywords

Subjects

بهرامی، کاوه (1396). بررسی سلسله مراتب دسترسی نقش‌های نحوی در زبان‌های آلمانی و فارسی. جستارهای زبانی، ۸ (۳)، ۲۳-۴۲.
.نغزگوی‌کهن، مهرداد و همکار (1394). فرهنگ توصیفی زبان‌شناسی تاریخی. تهران: نشر علمی

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Language Related Research
Volume 13, Issue 6 - Serial Number 72
January and February 2022
Pages 325-353