René Schiering: Flektierte Präpositionen im
Deutschen? Neue Evidenz
aus dem Ruhrgebiet
The present article has the
aim of reviving the discussion about the extent to which the blended/fused
forms (Verschmelzungsformen) in
German have undergone grammaticalization. The form and function of
blended/fused forms consisting of preposition + definite article in a corpus of
spoken language from the Ruhr have been investigated, and the inventory of
these forms is related to that of the uncontracted preposition + article
syntagma. The article goes on to define their grammatical status and they are
compared with the contracted form in use in standard and colloquial German.
This comparison reveals that the morphological system of Ruhr German has
developed a comprehensive paradigm of prepositional agreement. Finally, the
grammaticalization of the definite article described here is fitted into the
broader context of research into grammaticalization as a whole.