Acquiring V2 in declarative sentences and constituent questions in German as a second language

Abstract

German is a well-studied language within the PT framework and its predecessor, the Multidimensional Model (cf. Meisel, Clahsen & Pienemann 1981; Clahsen, Meisel & Pienemann 1983; Pienemann 1981, 1984, 1989, 1998; Clahsen 1984; Ellis 1989; Boss 1996, 2004; Jansen 2008; Baten 2013). However, no study has yet focused on constituent questions specifically for German, nor tested the Topic Hypothesis (Pienemann, Di Biase & Kawaguchi 2005) for this language or indeed its updated version, the Prominence Hypothesis, proposed in chapter 1, this volume. Furthermore, no study has yet conceptually and empirically compared the development of interrogative and declarative sentences, as proposed in this volume, in order to assess whether this generates any significant theoretical consequences. This chapter aims at filling these gaps on the basis of data collected for a study of the development of German syntax by Jansen (2008).