Zwischen Grammatik und Illusion: Eine tiefgreifende Synthese der Kontroverse um die deutsche Skandalkonstruktion

Abstract

The German verb cluster, in particular the so-called "scandal construction", poses significant challenges for linguistic theory. Due to multiple morphosyntactic irregularities – such as the apparent misplacement of the infinitive marker zu, the infinitivus pro participio (IPP), and the participium pro infinitivo (PPI) – this construction has traditionally been classified as marginal or irregular. However, recent empirical findings demonstrate its systematic prevalence and even preference in contemporary German. The present paper offers a profound synthesis of the complex controversy surrounding this phenomenon. It contrasts integration approaches (Vogel 2009; Wurmbrand 2010, 2012), which attempt to derive the construction as a regular phenomenon through Optimality Theory and the concept of parasitic morphology, with exclusion approaches (Haider 2011; Reis 2017). The latter classify the structure as a "grammatical illusion" based on local processing effects or as an extragrammatical makeshift strategy in a grammatical gap situation. The study highlights that the scandal construction serves as a crucial touchstone for the adequacy of linguistic models, raising fundamental questions about the relationship between grammaticality and acceptability, as well as competence and performance.