In this discussion note on Martina Wiltschko’s target article entitled ‘Emotions do not enter grammar because they are constructed (by grammar)’, I reflect on the following issues: (i) the absence of (basic) emotions in the structure of language, (ii) the usefulness of the notion of ‘basic emotion’ in the study of emotion, (iii) the structural organization of linguistic expressions and emotions, (iv) the way in which functional information (spinal properties) is realized in ex­pressive language (specifically, in Dutch). Finally, as a note from a more historical perspective, I draw the reader’s attention to Susanne K. Langer’s seminal study Philosophy in a New Key ([1942] 1957), which emphasizes the symbolic nature of both language and emotion.

The multi-volume work Syntax of Dutch presents a synthesis of current thinking on Dutch syntax. The text of the seven already available volumes was written between 1995 and 2015 and issued in print between 2012 and 2016. The various volumes are primarily concerned with the description of the Dutch language and, only where this is relevant, with linguistic theory. They will be an indispensable resource for researchers and advanced students of languages and linguistics interested in the Dutch language. This volume is the final one of the series and addresses issues relating to coordination. It contains three chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the syntactic and semantic properties of coordinate structures and their constituting elements, that is, the coordinators and the coordinands they link. Chapter 2 discusses the types of ellipsis known as conjunction reduction and gapping found in coordinate structures. Chapter 3 discusses elements seemingly exhibiting coordination-like properties, such as dan ‘than’ in comparative constructions like Jan is groter dan zij ‘Jan is taller than she’.