This paper contrasts the semantics of two nominalization patterns in German that are both (in a broad sense) based on adjectival meanings: morphological formations as Müdigkeit ('tiredness') (= N-MOR) and nominalized infinitival copular expressions as (das) Müde-Sein (lit. '(the) tired-be.INF') (= N-KOP). I argue for the following distinction: whereas N-KOPs denote abstract states in the sense of Maienborn (2005) (and thus directly pick up the referent of the verbal copular expression), N-MORs introduce referential arguments for conceptually underspecified, but rather concrete manifestations of such abstract states. The proposal accounts for clear distributional and interpretative differences: N-MORs, but not N-KOPs are amenable to environments that select for non-abstract entities, as e.g. degree expressions, perception reports, and locative modifiers. Conversely, only N-KOPs are closed under negation and disjunction, on a par with abstract entities as facts. The paper concludes with a formal sketch of the meaning each nominalization pattern contributes. In particular, the proposal for N-MOR builds upon lexical supervenience as defined by Engelberg (2005b) in order to relate manifestations and underlying abstract states.

The possessor in German inalienable possession constructions can be an accusative or dativemarked nominal, as in Der Junge hat ihn/ihm in die Nase gebissen 'The boy bit him (ACC/DAT) into the nose' (see also Wegener 1985, Draye 1996, and Lamiroy and Delbecque 1998). Not all participating verbs allow this case optionality. Some require accusative, others seem to require dative when modified by one kind of PP but take accusative when modified by another kind of PP. This paper argues that the option of having a possessor dative, an instance of 'external possession', depends on the possibility of using the verb intransitively, with a Goal PP indicating the endpoint of a directed motion.

Coordinative compounds like Dichtermaler 'poet painter' show a coordinative internal relation between the two constituents they consist of. In contrast to determinative compounds they have not gained much attention in research in the last years so it is unclear whether they exist at all in languages like German and if so, whether they fall into several subclasses and in which ones. This article proposes a new typology of coordinative compounds based on the notion of (different kinds of) set union demonstrating that coordinative compounds do occur in German and that there are more types than previously thought.

For more than a decade, there is intensive investigation of heritage languages, originating but not restricted to heritage languages in the USA. The crucial research questions concern the nature of the observed effects of influence from the majority language on the heritage languages, i.e. is it language attrition/loss (affecting the first generation migrants), implying incomplete acquisition (in the second and subsequent generation) or language change? To date, there is yet not much research on heritage languages in Germany. The present paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing debate with data from first and second generation Spanish heritage speakers (n = 8 in both groups) in Germany as compared to a control group of Spaniards (n = 7). The results of the analysis of object omissions and (in particular clitic) realizations show that both, language attrition and incomplete acquisition can be clearly excluded for the groups investigated. None of the investigated aspects did reveal statistically significant differences between the different groups.