Acknowledgements

Non-canonical syntax is omnipresent in language use. This is why it cannot be tackled by one or two researchers, but requires collaboration and exchange. Indeed, many people have helped in the creation and production of this book, and we would like to express our gratitude to all of them.

Several contributors to this volume have worked together as part of the scientific network called Syntax Beyond the Canon: Cutting-edge Studies of Non-Canonical Syntax in English, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation, 419901034) from 2019 to 2025. We would like to thank the DFG for funding this network and for kindly agreeing to extend the funding period after several network meetings had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our collaboration as a scientific network has not only resulted in this edited collection but has led to many new (academic) friendships and projects.

We are furthermore much obliged to Betty Birner, Marianne Hundt, Stefan Hoffmann, Stefan Th. Gries, Devyani Sharma, Douglas Biber, David Willis, and Peter Uhrig, who were present at different network meetings to discuss non-canonical syntax and how to explore it with us. They have given valuable input to our discussions in their guest lectures, provided very helpful feedback on individual research projects, and contributed immensely to our theoretical discussions on non-canonical syntax. Some of these international guests have also contributed to this volume, and it is them we would like to thank in particular, not least for endorsing our understanding of syntactic non-canonicity in this volume.

A big ‘thank you’ also goes to all the external reviewers who agreed to review one of the contributions to this volume – by doing so, they helped improve the quality of the volume. We would also like to thank Claudia Lange and Tanja Rütten, whose workshop on ‘Non-Canonical Grammar?!’ at the Anglistiktag 2016 in Hamburg eventually led to the creation of the DFG network and this volume.

We also sincerely thank the general editor of the series Studies in English Language, Merja Kytö, for her enthusiasm for this volume as well as her help and advice. We are also much obliged to everyone involved in the production process, particularly Helen Barton and Izzie Collins, who were extremely helpful throughout the book’s production process and always remained patient with us.

Last but not least, we are thankful to all network members for making each and every network meeting not only productive and stimulating but also fun and unforgettable, and for being such a cool team!