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Cambridge Language Sciences

Interdisciplinary Research Centre
 

Research

I specialise in theoretical, comparative and historical syntax, with interface, acquisition and contact issues also being a focus of interest. To date, much of my research has centred on the clause structure of the Germanic languages, with the peculiar patterns of variation and change exhibited by Afrikaans forming the heart of my doctoral work, and various aspects of the diachrony of English and other Germanic languages having been a major research focus since the completion of that Ph.D. in 2003. I was previously (2002-2007) the Research Associate on an AHRC-funded project Null subjects and the structure of parametric theory, also involving Ian Roberts, David Willis and Anders Holmberg (University of Newcastle), and then the Senior Research Associate on a further AHRC-funded project (October 2007-May 2011) investigating Structure and Linearization in Disharmonic Word Orders (research team: Ian Roberts and Theresa Biberauer (Cambridge), and Anders Holmberg and Michelle Sheehan (Newcastle). June 2011 saw the start of a 5-year ERC-funded grant, Reconsidering Comparative Syntax working with Ian Roberts (Principal Investigator).

 

Publications (from Symplectic)

Journal articles

2019

  • Biberauer, T., 2019. Some thoughts on the complexity of syntactic complexity Theoretical Linguistics, v. 45
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2019-0017
  • Biberauer, T., 2019. Children always go beyond the input: The Maximise Minimal Means perspective Theoretical Linguistics, v. 45
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2019-0013
  • Biberauer, T., 2019. Factors 2 and 3: Towards a principled approach Catalan Journal of Linguistics, v. 2019
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.5565/REV/CATJL.219
  • 2018

  • Biberauer, T., 2018. Less is more: On the tolerance principle as a manifestation of maximize minimal means Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, v. 8
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1075/lab.18080.bib
  • 2016 (No publication date)

  • Biberauer, T., 2016 (No publication date). ’Nie sommer nie’: Sociohistorical and formal comparative considerations in the rise and maintenance of the modern Afrikaans negation system Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, v. 47
  • 2016

  • Deuchar, M. and Biberauer, T., 2016. Doubling: An error or an illusion? Bilingualism, v. 19
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728916000043
  • 2015

  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2015. Rethinking Formal Hierarchies: A Proposed Unification Cambridge Occasional Papers in Linguistics, v. 7
  • 2014

  • Biberauer, T., Haegeman, L. and Van Kemenade, A., 2014. Putting our heads together: Towards a syntax of particles Studia Linguistica, v. 68
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/stul.12021
  • Biberauer, T., Holmberg, A. and Roberts, I., 2014. A Syntactic Universal and Its Consequences Linguistic Inquiry, v. 45
    Doi: 10.1162/ling_a_00153
  • 2012 (No publication date)

  • Biberauer, MT. and Zeijlstra, HH., 2012 (No publication date). Negative Concord in Afrikaans: filling a typological gap Journal of Semantics,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/jos/ffr010
  • 2011

  • Biberauer, T. and Sheehan, M., 2011. Introduction: Particles through a modern syntactic lens Linguistic Review, v. 28
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1515/tlir.2011.011
  • Biberauer, T. and Van Kemenade, A., 2011. Subject positions and information-structural diversification in the history of english Catalan Journal of Linguistics, v. 10
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.5565/rev/catjl.32
  • 2010

  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2010. Comments on Jager "Anything is nothing is something": on the diachrony of polarity types of indefinites NAT LANG LINGUIST TH, v. 28
    Doi: 10.1007/s11049-010-9111-3
  • Biberauer, T. and D'Alessandro, R., 2010. On the role of gemination in passives: the case of Abruzzese. Snippets, v. 21
  • 2009

  • Biberauer, T., Newton, G. and Sheehan, M., 2009. Limiting Synchronic and Diachronic Variation and Change: The Final-over-Final Constraint LANG LINGUIST, v. 10
  • Biberauer, MT., Newton, G. and Sheehan, M., 2009. Limiting synchronic and diachronic variation and change: the Final-Over-Final Constraint. Language and Linguistics, v. 10
  • 2007

  • Biberauer, T., 2007. A closer look at Negative Concord in Afrikaans Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, v. 35
  • 2001

  • Biberauer, T., 2001. Language Change in Afrikaans and the Perennial V2 Puzzle: Considering New Data Durham Working Papers in Linguistics, v. 7
  • 1996

  • Biberauer, T., 1996. Frightening or enlightening? An appraisal of the functions of the military metaphor in the aids context Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, v. 29
  • Book chapters

    2018

  • Biberauer, MT., 2018. Probing the nature of the Final-over-Final Condition: the perspective from adpositions
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1117686
  • Biberauer, T., 2018. Pro-drop and emergent parameter hierarchies
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198815853.003.0005
  • 2017 (Published online)

  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2017 (Published online). Chapter 4. Conditional inversion and types of parametric change
    Doi: 10.1075/la.243.04rob
  • Biberauer, T., 2017 (Published online). Chapter 5. Optional V2 in modern Afrikaans
    Doi: 10.1075/la.243.05bib
  • 2017

  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2017. Parameter setting
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/9781107279070.008
  • Biberauer, MT., 2017. Particles and the Final-over-Final Condition
  • 2016 (Published online)

  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2016 (Published online). Parameter typology from a diachronic perspective
    Doi: 10.1075/la.234.10bib
  • 2015

  • Biberauer, M. and Roberts, I., 2015. The clausal hierarchy, features and parameters
  • 2014

  • Biberauer, MT., Holmberg, JA., Roberts, I. and Sheehan, ML., 2014. Complexity in comparative syntax: the view from modern parametric theory
  • 2013 (No publication date)

  • Sheehan, ML., Biberauer, T., Holmberg, AH. and Roberts, IGR., 2013 (No publication date). Complexity in comparative syntax: the view from modern parametric theory
  • 2013

  • Biberauer, T. and Zeijlstra, H., 2013. Negative changes: Three factors and the diachrony of Afrikaans negation
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199659203.003.0013
  • 2012

  • Biberauer, T. and Sheehan, M., 2012. Disharmony, Antisymmetry, and the Final-over-Final Constraint
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199644933.003.0009
  • Biberauer, T., 2012. Competing Reinforcements: When Languages Opt Out of Jespersen's Cycle
  • Biberauer, T., 2012. Competing reinforcements: When languages opt out of Jespersen’s Cycle
  • 2011

  • Roberts, IG. and Biberauer, MT., 2011. Negative words and related expressions: a new perspective on some familiar puzzles
  • 2010

  • Biberauer, MT., Sheehan, M. and Newton, G., 2010. Impossible Changes and Impossible Borrowings: the Final-over-Final Constraint.
  • Biberauer, T., Sheehan, M. and Newton, G., 2010. Impossible changes and impossible borrowings
  • 2009

  • Biberauer, MT., 2009. How "well-behaved" is Afrikaans? V2 in Modern Spoken Afrikaans
  • Biberauer, MT., 2009. Semi pro-drop languages, expletives and expletive pro reconsidered.
  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2009. Subjects, tense and verb-movement
    Doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511770784.008
  • Biberauer, T., 2009. Competing reinforcements
  • Biberauer, MT., 2009. Jespersen off course? The case of contemporary Afrikaans negation.
  • Biberauer, T., 2009. Chapter 5. Jespersen off course? The case of contemporary Afrikaans negation
  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2009. The return of the Subset Principle
    Doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560547.003.0004
  • Biberauer, MT. and Roberts, I., 2009. Subjects, Tense and Verb-movement in Germanic and Romance.
  • 2008

  • Biberauer, MT., Holmberg, A. and Roberts, I., 2008. Structure and linearization in disharmonic word orders.
  • Biberauer, T., 2008. Doubling vs. omission: Insights from afrikaans negation
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1163/9781848550216_005
  • Biberauer, MT., 2008. Introduction
  • Biberauer, MT., 2008. Doubling and omission: insights from Afrikaans negation.
  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2008. Cascading Parameter Changes: Internally-Driven Change in Middle and Early Modern English
  • 2007

  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2007. Loss of residual “head final” orders and remnant fronting in Late Middle English
  • 2006

  • Biberauer, T., 2006. Afrikaans
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/02190-8
  • Biberauer, T. and Richards, M., 2006. True optionality
    Doi: 10.1075/la.91.08bib
  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2006. Loss of residual “head final” orders and remnant fronting in Late Middle English
    Doi: 10.1075/la.97.13bib
  • Biberauer, T. and Richards, M., 2006. True optionality
  • 2005

  • Richards, M. and Biberauer, T., 2005. Explaining Expl
    Doi: 10.1075/la.78.06ric
  • 2002

  • Biberauer, T., 2002. Verb Second in Afrikaans: Is This a Unitary Phenomenon?
  • Books

    2017

  • Sheehan, ML., Biberauer, TB, , Holmberg, A, and Roberts, IG, , 2017. The Final over Final Condition: A word-order universal and its implications for linguistic theory
  • 2015

  • 2015. Introduction: Changing views of syntactic change
  • 2013

  • 2013. Challenges to Linearization
    Doi: 10.1515/9781614512431
  • 2012 (No publication date)

  • Sheehan, ML. and Biberauer, T., 2012 (No publication date). Theoretical Approaches to Disharmonic Word Orders
  • 2009

  • Biberauer, T., Holmberg, A. and Roberts, I., 2009. Parametric variation
  • Biberauer, T., Holmberg, A., Roberts, I. and Sheehan, M., 2009. Parametric variation: Null subjects in minimalist theory
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511770784
  • Biberauer, T., Holmberg, A. and Roberts, I., 2009. Parametric variation
  • 2008

  • Biberauer, T., 2008. The limits of syntactic variation
  • Conference proceedings

    2016 (No publication date)

  • Biberauer, T. and Cyrino, SML., 2016 (No publication date). Negative developments in Afrikaans and Brazilian Portuguese
  • 2011 (No publication date)

  • Biberauer, MT., Holmberg, A. and Roberts, I., 2011 (No publication date). Linearising disharmonic word orders: the Final-over-Final Constraint.
  • 2008

  • Biberauer, MT., Holmberg, A. and Roberts, I., 2008. Disharmonic word-order systems and the Final-over-Final-Constraint (FOFC)In Proceedings of XXXIII Incontro di Grammatica Generativa. http://amsacta.cib.unibo.it/archive/00002397/01/PROCEEDINGS_IGG33.pdf,
  • 2005

  • Biberauer, T. and Roberts, I., 2005. Changing EPP parameters in the history of English: accounting for variation and change ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS, v. 9
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S1360674305001528
  • Other publications

    2015

  • 2015. Syntax over Time
    Doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687923.001.0001
  • Principal Research Associate
    Dr Theresa  Biberauer

    Affiliations

    Classifications: