Double negation in the German dialect of Deutschpilsen/ Nagybörzsöny

Abstract

This study investigates the linguistic expressions of negation in the German dialect of Deutschpilsen/Nagybörzsöny. First, we analyse the forms of simple negation, then the dialectal manifestations of negative doubling and negative spread. The latter notions refer to contexts in that several negative expressions occur within a sentence, but they do not cancel each other out, but rather reinforce each other. Such constructions are well attested in German dialects, and in earlier stages of the German language. Negative spread is characteristic of the contact language Hungarian, too; thus, it could be concluded that it was introduced into the Nagybörzsöny dialect by Hungarian influence, but since no other grammatical or syntactic influence from the Hungarian language can be detected – only a few lexical items were transferred into the dialect as loanwords –, we do not think that this is the case. In the second half of the study, we sketch a syntactic analysis of sentential negation in the dialect, with special focus on the single negation interpretation of clauses containing two or more negative expressions. It is also important to mention the variable position of the negative marker and to seek its origin in language history. To complete our analysis, we briefly present the syntactic structure of Hungarian sentential negation, to gain a better understanding of possible contact phenomena or their absence between the two languages.