LOW GERMAN
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Himmelreich, Anke, Melissa Jeckel, Katharina Hartmann, Johannes Mursell (2021): Agreement with Coordinated Subjects in the World's Languages [Data set]. Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main (Link: https://www.multivaluation.de/database.php)
Overview
| Language family: | Indo-European (Germanic)
|
| Countries: | Northern and western Germany, Eastern Netherlands, Southern Denmark
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| Number of speakers: | 6.7 million
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| Agreement features: | number, person
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| Attested word orders: | SV, VS
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| Coordination types: | and, or
|
|
Data Collection
The data were elicited with a native speaker from Western Pomerania. The task was to translate sentences from Standard German. Both Standard German and Low German are V2 languages, making it quite easy for the speaker to stick to the word order as intended.
Patterns for number
Coordination with ``and''
SV order
Pattern: There is plural marking in all combinations.
| 1st | 2nd | sg | pl
|
| sg | pl | pl
|
| pl | pl | pl
|
Examples:
| (1) | De | Jung | un | de | Mann | löpen. |
|
| the | boy.sg | and | the | man.sg | run.3pl |
|
| `The boy and the man run.'
|
| (2) | De | Jungen | un | de | Mann | löpen. |
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| the | boy.pl | and | the | man.sg | run.3pl |
|
| `The boys and the man run.'
|
| (3) | De | Jung | un | de | Männer | löpen. |
|
| the | boy.sg | and | the | man.pl | run.3pl |
|
| `The boy and the men run.'
|
| (4) | | De | Jungen | un | de | Männer | löpen. |
|
| | the.pl | boy.pl | and | the.pl | man.pl | run.3pl |
|
| `The boys and the men run.'
|
VS order
Pattern: There is closest conjunct agreement.
| 1st | 2nd | sg | pl
|
| sg | sg | sg
|
| pl | pl | pl
|
Examples:
| (5) | Morgen | löpt | de | Jung | un | de | Mann | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3sg | the | boy.sg | and | the | man.sg | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow the boy and the man are running to church.'
|
| (6) | Morgen | löpen | de | Jungen | un | de | Mann | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3pl | the | boy.pl | and | the | man.sg | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow the boys and the man are running to church.'
|
| (7) | Morgen | löpt | de | Jung | un | de | Männer | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3sg | the | boy.sg | and | the | man.pl | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow the boy and the men are running to church.'
|
Coordination with ``or''
SV order
Pattern: There is plural marking in all combinations.
| 1st | 2nd | sg | pl
|
| sg | pl | pl
|
| pl | pl | pl
|
Examples:
| (8) | De | Jung | oder | de | Mann | löpen. |
|
| the | boy.sg | or | the | man.sg | run.3pl |
|
| `The boy or the man run.'
|
| (9) | De | Jungen | oder | de | Mann | löpen. |
|
| the | boy.pl | or | the | man.sg | run.3pl |
|
| `The boys or the man run.'
|
| (10) | De | Jung | oder | de | Männer | löpen. |
|
| the | boy.sg | or | the | man.pl | run.3pl |
|
| `The boy or the men run.'
|
| (11) | De | Jungen | un | de | Männer | löpen. |
|
| | the.pl | boy.pl | and | the.pl | man.pl | run.3pl |
|
| `The boys and the men run.'
|
VS order
Pattern: There is closest conjunct agreement.
| 1st | 2nd | sg | pl
|
| sg | sg | sg
|
| pl | pl | pl
|
Examples:
| (12) | Morgen | löpt | de | Jung | oder | de | Mann | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3sg | the | boy.sg | or | the | man.sg | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow the boy or the man are running to church.'
|
| (13) | Morgen | löpen | de | Jungen | oder | de | Mann | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3pl | the | boy.pl | or | the | man.sg | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow the boys or the man are running to church.'
|
| (14) | Morgen | löpt | de | Jung | oder | de | Männer | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3sg | the | boy.sg | or | the | man.pl | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow the boy or the men are running to church.'
|
Patterns for person
Coordination with ``and''
SV order
Pattern: All mismatches are resolved to 1st/3rd person plural. (Note: 3rd and 1st person plural are syncretic.)
| 1st | 2nd | 1 | 2 | 3
|
| 1 | | 1/3pl | 1/3pl
|
| 2 | 1/3pl | | 1/3pl
|
| 3 | 1/3pl | 1/3pl |
|
Examples:
| (15) | Ik | un | du | löpen. |
|
| I | and | you | run.3pl |
|
| `I and you run.'
|
| (16) | Du | un | ik | löpen. |
|
| you | and | I | run.3pl |
|
| `You and I run.'
|
| (17) | He | un | ik | löpen.
|
| he | and | I | run.3pl
|
| `He and I run.'
|
| (18) | Ik | un | he | löpen.
|
| I | and | he | run.3pl
|
| `I and he run.'
|
| (19) | He | un | du | löpen.
|
| he | and | you | run.3pl
|
| `He and you run.'
|
| (20) | Du | un | he | löpen.
|
| you | and | he | run.3pl
|
| `You and he run.'
|
VS order
Pattern: There is closest conjunct agreement. (Number is resolved to plural if the first conjunct is 1st person.)
| 1st | 2nd | 1 | 2 | 3
|
| 1 | | 1pl | 1pl
|
| 2 | 2sg | | 2sg
|
| 3 | 3sg | 3sg |
|
Examples:
| (21) | Morgen | löpen | ik | un | du | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.1pl | I | and | you | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow I and you are running to church.'
|
| (22) | Morgen | löpst | du | un | ik | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.2sg | you | and | I | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow you and I are running to church.'
|
| (23) | Morgen | löpen | ik | un | he | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.1pl | I | and | he | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow I and he are running to church.'
|
| (24) | Morgen | löpt | he | un | ik | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3sg | he | and | I | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow he and I are running to church.'
|
| (25) | Morgen | löpst | du | un | he | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.2sg | you | and | he | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow you and he are running to church.'
|
| (26) | Morgen | löpt | he | un | du | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3sg | he | and | you | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow he and you are running to church.'
|
Coordination with ``or''
SV order
Pattern: All mismatches are resolved to 1st/3rd person plural. (Note: 3rd and 1st person plural are syncretic.)
| 1st | 2nd | 1 | 2 | 3
|
| 1 | | 1/3pl | 1/3pl
|
| 2 | 1/3pl | | 1/3pl
|
| 3 | 1/3pl | 1/3pl |
|
Examples:
| (27) | Ik | oder | du | löpen. |
|
| I | or | you | run.3pl |
|
| `I or you run.'
|
| (28) | Du | oder | ik | löpen. |
|
| you | or | I | run.3pl |
|
| `You or I run.'
|
| (29) | He | oder | ik | löpen.
|
| he | or | I | run.3pl
|
| `He or I run.'
|
| (30) | Ik | oder | he | löpen.
|
| I | or | he | run.3pl
|
| `I or he run.'
|
| (31) | He | oder | du | löpen.
|
| he | or | you | run.3pl
|
| `He or you run.'
|
| (32) | Du | oder | he | löpen.
|
| you | or | he | run.3pl
|
| `You or he run.'
|
VS order
Pattern: There is closest conjunct agreement. (Number is resolved to plural if the first conjunct is 1st person.)
| 1st | 2nd | 1 | 2 | 3
|
| 1 | | 1pl | 1pl
|
| 2 | 2sg | | 2sg
|
| 3 | 3sg | 3sg |
|
Examples:
| (33) | Morgen | löpen | ik | oder | du | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.1pl | I | or | you | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow I or you are running to church.'
|
| (34) | Morgen | löpst | du | oder | ik | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.2sg | you | or | I | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow you or I are running to church.'
|
| (35) | Morgen | löpen | ik | oder | he | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.1pl | I | or | he | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow I or he are running to church.'
|
| (36) | Morgen | löpt | he | oder | ik | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3sg | he | or | I | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow he or I are running to church.'
|
| (37) | Morgen | löpst | du | oder | he | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.2sg | you | or | he | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow you or he are running to church.'
|
| (38) | Morgen | löpt | he | oder | du | to | Kirch. |
|
| tomorrow | run.3sg | he | or | you | to | church
|
| `Tomorrow he or you are running to church.'
|