Correlative markers as phoric “Grammaticalised Category Markers” of subordination in German

Abstract

The present article deals with the status and definition of correlative markers in modern German subordinate clauses, which retain “phoric” properties from their etymological determinative nature, from which their demarcative or connective functions proceed, characterising either the subordinate clause itself or its relation to the complex sentence. The discussion shows that correlatives are deep structure determination markers and that their semantic and pragmatic functions vary with the type of subordinate clause and the type of complex sentence with which they combine. The complex sentence is thus to be defined not as the mere concatenation of two simple sentences, but rather as the result of intricate constructions which must be considered from a holistic viewpoint, because the whole sentence is more than the sum of its parts, where additional meaning is essentially contained in the binding determinative markers and assertive markers which build interdependent relations and set the sentence within a bigger pragmatic and textual whole.