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Diminutive-formation in German

Spelling out the classifier analysis

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Abstract

In German, mass nouns can be turned into count nouns by means of two alternative strategies: either by using them in connection with a numeral classifier, or by adding the diminutive morpheme (-chen). In this paper, I argue that the two strategies are structurally exactly parallel, with both kinds of elements (numeral classifiers and diminutive -chen) being exponents of an individuating functional head. The (superficial) difference is that -chen—which I show is a clitic-like element—triggers obligatory movement of the nominalized root to its Spec. By contrast, this movement is optional with a (non-deficient) numeral classifier, yielding both ‘analytic’ and ‘compound’ forms. The picture that emerges from the discussion is a unified analysis of count structures in German.

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  1. Department of Linguistics, Harvard University, Boylston Hall, 3rd floor, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Dennis Ott

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Ott, D. Diminutive-formation in German. J Comp German Linguistics 14, 1–46 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10828-010-9040-x

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