Research project at the Faculty of Humanities, Aarhus University,
financed by Statens Humanistiske Forskningsråd (Danish Humanities Research Foundation).

Tavs Bjerre	Post doc.	Nordic Department, Aarhus University
Eva Engels	Post doc.	English, Inst. of Language, Literature and Culture Aarhus University
Henrik Jørgensen	Assoc. professor	Nordic Department, Aarhus University	norhj@cc.au.dk
Sten Vikner	Professor	English, Inst. of Language, Literature and Culture Aarhus University	sten.vikner@cc.au.dk

Tavs Bjerre

Eva Engels

Henrik Jørgensen

Sten Vikner

The project Object positions - comparative syntax in a cross-theoretical perspective intends to apply the formal and the functional approach in a parallel fashion to a concrete empirical area (object positions). By comparing the different accounts of the same empirical data offered by the two approaches, it will be possible to investigate what and how much the two different approaches have in common, and also what separates them. It will furthermore be possible to see whether and to which extent one approach can be inspired and influenced by how the other approach goes about solving a particular problem. We are convinced that such synergy effects will be considerable.

The project is divided up into two subprojects, a functional one and a formal one, each of which will investigate a number of different constructions in Danish and other languages, under a series of thematic headlines, such as case theory, information structure, reference, and projection types.

The project is not just cross-theoretical but also comparative. We see comparative linguistics as a kind of linguistics that in addition to comparing languages empirically also seeks to account theoretically for as many surface differences as possible by deriving them from as few underlying abstract differences as possible. In this way, it is established which kinds of variation exist between languages, and which kinds do not exist, and thus important contributions may be made to our knowledge about the scope and the limitations of the human brain.