Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This paper investigates German sentence adverbs that have a clausal origin. In particular, we propose a scenario in which they are reanalyzed from V1- or V2-parentheticals, rather than from subordinating matrix constructions. This reanalysis is facilitated by systematic structural ambiguity between integrated and non-integrated material in the German middle field. We argue that the change can be better explained by principles of syntactic economy that lead to structural simplification, rather than semanto-pragmatic mechanisms such as subjectification. While we assume that this path is highly relevant also cross-linguistically, German offers a particularly well-suited environment for its study because it exhibits asymmetries for main clauses vs. subordinate clauses, V1 parentheticals vs. main clauses, and a disambiguating position for integrated vs. non-integrated material in the C-domain, the German prefield.</jats:p>