I am interested in the areas of syntax and morphology, including general theoretical issues, as well as issues relating to particular languages. I also work on language change, in particular on grammaticalisation. My research has focused on Germanic languages, in particular the Scandinavian ones and Pennsylvania German, but a number of my publications have a wider comparative aim. Among other things, I have worked on noun phrases, complementation, agreement, the role of morphology in theories of syntax and I have argued against recent claims in the literature that examples of 'degrammaticalisation' can be found in Germanic languages.
Jointly with David Denison I have recently worked on a project entitled Germanic possessive -s : an empirical, historical and theoretical study project page funded by the AHRC.
I have run an ESRC funded project on Pennsylvania German as spoken in Waterloo County: Modelling syntactic change in Pennsylvania German.
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Personal details | Research | Postgraduate opportunities | Publications | Teaching
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