Micro- and (a bit of) Macro- variation in Germanic DP-internal negation:
The case of German kein ein 
and Dutch geen één

Nicolas Lamoure (GU Frankfurt)
&
Ruby Sleeman (Institute of Mediterranean Studies Rethymno)

January 26, 2026
16.15-17.45

IG 3.201
or on zoom (please contact Manfred Sailer for the link)

Abstract
The majority grammar of German and Dutch differ strongly in their licensing of the construction kein ein or geen één in prosodically unmarked contexts:

Er     hat    keinen    einen     Fehler      gemacht
He    has    no           a             mistake   made
‘He didn’t commit a mistake.’

Hij heef  geen één    fout          gemaakt.
he  has   no      a       mistake  made
‘He didn’t commit a mistake.’

This macroparametric variation is complemented by some interesting, seemingly non-dialectal, micro-variation: While this construction is unacceptable for most speakers of German we consulted, there exists a minority for whom kein ein is perfectly well formed. This variant of German does not appear to be associated with one single dialect, though. In this talk we will outline an analysis couched in a generativist-minimalist framework, which will seek to derive the variation observed by a minimal difference in the mental lexicon of the speakers, more precisely in the lexicon entry of the indefinite article / numeral ein. The analysis holds that speakers of the minority variant do not require to lexicalize an existential operator when using ein (cf. “underspecification”). Optionally, “ein” can serve as a pure cardinal element, therefore omitting a semantic clash obtained in the majority grammar involving the affirmation of existence expressed by ein on one hand and the derived cardinality of the numeral part of ein in conjunction with the negation expressed by kein on the other hand.