The Left and Right Periphery in Dutch

This article discusses the information-structural status and the syntax of left and right dislocation constructions in Dutch. Four orthogonal information-structural features are proposed, and their distribution is systematically investigated. Furthermore, it is argued that hanging topic left dislocation, backgrounding right dislocation and afterthoughts are a particular kind of parenthesis. They do not involve movement, and do not show reconstruction effects. Contrastive left dislocation, on the other hand, behaves on a par with topicalization; both involve contrast, and show signs of A-bar movement. The demonstrative pronoun is analyzed as an apposition to the topicalized phrase. Finally, it is shown that right-dislocated constituents, like appositions, are parenthetical secondary predicates of an anchor in the host clause.