Sjef Barbiers, born in Amsterdam, in 1959. Ph.D. from Leiden University. Special Researcher and Chair of the Research Department at the Meertens Institute (KNAW). Professor of Variation Linguistics, Utrecht University.
Fellow (1 February 2013 – 30 June 2013)
SYNTACTIC MICROVARIATION, DOUBLING AND QUANTIFICATION
Recent large-scale dialect syntax research has shown that syntactic doubling is a pervasive and central cross-linguistic feature. In syntactic doubling constructions (part of) a constituent is optionally or obligatorily repeated without any noticeable effect on the semantics of the sentence. Language varieties show a wealth of variation in this domain. This project investigates if a unified theoretical analysis of syntactic doubling is possible, taking into account other than syntactic levels that may be relevant for the understanding of syntactic doubling, such as phonological form, semantic and pragmatic interpretation, processing and sociolinguistic factors.
Selected Publications
Barbiers, S. (2009) ‘Locus and limits of syntactic microvariation’. In: Lingua: 119 (11), 1607-1623. Full text
Barbiers, S. & J. van der Auwera & H.J. Bennis & E. Boef & G. De Vogelaer & M.H. van der Ham. (2008) Syntactische Atlas van de Nederlandse Dialecten Deel II / Syntactic Atlas of the Dutch Dialects Volume II. Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2008. Full text
Barbiers, S. & H.J. Bennis & G. de Vogelaer & M. Devos & M.H. van der Ham. (2005) Syntactische Atlas van de Nederlandse Dialecten/Syntactic Atlas of the Dutch Dialects Volume I. Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2005. Full text