Preposition Omission and Focus in German Fragments: A Case for a Q-Based Approach

Miriam L. Schiele

Keywords: ellipsis, acceptability judgments, German, preposition omission, focus, Q-based approach

TL;DR: Experimental data on German fragments show that preposition omission is degraded especially under contrastive focus, supporting a Q-based approach to clausal ellipsis, challenging previous accounts by Merchant (2001) and Nykiel & Hawkins (2020).

Abstract:

This study examines the acceptability of preposition omission in German fragmentary utterances, focusing on whether syntactic constraints or case-marking drive its degradation. Competing theories propose that preposition omission is either ungrammatical due to P-stranding constraints (Merchant 2001) or that the preposition is required for processing overtly case-marked DPs (Nykiel & Hawkins 2020). Acceptability judgment tasks with German monolingual speakers tested the factors PREPOSITION (retention or omission), CLAUSE (isomorphic or ambiguous), and FOCUS (contrastive or presentational). The results reveal a general preference for preposition retention, and overt case-marking does not significantly influence acceptability, contradicting N&H's predictions. Similarly, no interaction emerges between CLAUSE type and preposition omission, undermining Merchant's Preposition Stranding Generalization. However, preposition omission is significantly more degraded under contrastive focus, supporting the hypothesis that focus forces syntactic alignment between the fragment and an isomorphic underlying clause. These findings support a Q-based approach to clausal ellipsis, wherein the implicit question must be a syntactically well-formed linguistic object rather than a mere discourse-based information state. In German, this syntactic alignment necessitates preposition retention. This study challenges traditional theories of preposition omission and provides experimental evidence for a syntactically grounded account of elliptical fragments.

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Submission Number: 131