Discontinuous DP-coordination in German

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce what we consider to be a new problem for syntactic analysis. We show that German allows for discontinuous coordination of DPs, where material that is not part of the coordinate structure may intervene between the DP-coordinates. We further argue that discontinuous coordination of DPs differs from standard DP-coordination in one important aspect: The coordinate structure as a whole is not accessible to material c-commanded by the first coordinate in overt syntax. This difference is a non-trivial problem for any analysis of discontinuous DP-coordination.