Preposition reduplication in Icelandic

This chapter discusses the basic properties of preposition reduplication (P-reduplication) in Icelandic with some comparative data from the other Germanic languages. Under Nunes' (2001, 2004) theory of the linearization of chain links, it can be argued that P-reduplication involves three steps: (i) movement of a preposition to a functional head position within an extended PP, (ii) reanalysis of the moved preposition, and (iii) the creation of a higher copy of the preposition, either through fronting of the remnant PP (wh-movement or topicalization in Modern Icelandic) or leftward movement of the preposition (Old Icelandic). Whichever option is involved in step (iii), the highest copy of the preposition and the reanalyzed copy are overtly realized. The proposed analysis also accounts for the fact that a grammar allowing P-reduplication (with wh-movement or topicalization) also allows preposition stranding but not vice versa.