The Science of Pronominal Usage: He and It in Co-Reference to Inanimate Objects in Late Middle English Texts on Alchemy

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The published version can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0075424210384225This article explores the variation between he and it in coreference to inanimate entities (such as mercury, sulfur, and salt). Using alchemical texts from the fifteenth century as material, the article demonstrates that there was much more variation in pronominal reference in this period than has previously been shown. Of the possible explanations suggested by previous research, the earlier grammatical gender system and transference from Latin do not seem to play a role, while pronoun clustering and pronominal reanalysis appear to influence the quantitative distribution. The scale of individuation used by Siemund and Stenroos to explain similar usage is shown not to be a straightforward predictor. Other factors such as personification and perceived similarities between animate and inanimate entities may affect the degree of perceived individuation. The choice of he over she seems to be influenced by pronominal reanalysis and straightforward personification in some cases. In other instances, it is speculated that the he usage reflects (stereotypical) gender conceptions in the Middle Ages

Using the OED as a data source: the history of English reflexive verbs: Presented at Dictionaries and Text Corpora session

Present-Day English is generally assumed to possess only a handful of lexicalized reflexive verbs (absent oneself from, pride oneself on, etc.) and to use the reflexive marker neither for the marking of middle situation types nor the derivation of anticausative (decausative) verbs. Such nonreflexivizing uses of reflexive markers are widespread in other Germanic languages (cf. Germ. sich offnen 'open' intr.). Based on data drawn from the British National Corpus, Siemund (forthc.) shows that the English reflexive pronoun itself does occur as a marker of middle situation types as well as for the derivation of anticausative verbs.I will here follow up the historical development of the verbs that participate in such processes beginning with the Middle English Period. My analysis is based on a survey of the relevant verbs in the Oxford English Dictionary (ca. 200 verbs). Here, a number of interesting observations can be made:Middle English had some lexicalized reflective verbs that used a simple pronoun for reflexive marking: For to pride hym in his strengthe of body it is an heigh foyle (OED, 1386) □ to pride oneself; who so fyndeth hym out of swich fame (OED, 1386) □ to find oneself 'be, exist'. When complex reflexives replace simple pronouns in relexive contexts, this also happens in lexicalized reflexive verbs.There are various borrowings of French lexicalized reflexive verbs where the French reflexive is replaced by the English complex reflexive: you express yourselfes worthy of it (OED, 1549). We also find reflexive lexicalizations of French/Latin-based verbs in (Early) Modern English:the thought suggested itself (OED, 1751). These may also be borrowings.Alongside the processes in 1-3, the reflexive marker increasingly comes to be used in motion middle contexts (fling itself, position itself, etc.) and for the formation of anticausative verbs (solve itself, sell itself, etc.).These observations nicely illustrate how continuity (inertia), innovation (grammaticalization, analogical extension, lexicalization) and contact-induced change work in parallel and give rise to a rather complex synchronic picture. Even though I do not wish to claim that each verb has its own history, my talk is a warning against a simple reconstruction of the current synchronic situation in terms of one process alone. Moreover, the Oxford English Dictionary proves a rich and highly valuable data source that can be used for serious linguistic analyses

Varieties English : a typological approach

This book aims to introduce the students of English and general linguistics to the fascinating world of morphosyntactic variation that can be encountered across varieties of English spoken around the world.xix, 290 p.: ill.; 23 c

Organizer

A satisfactory and illuminating treatment of language variation remains an immensely challenging task for linguistic theorizing. The workshop aims to contribute towards this discussion by exploring the role of linguistic universals for bringing order into the apparent chaos of variation. Language variation can be observed in different domains of language and linguistics. The workshop will inter alia be concerned with cross-linguistic variation, language internal variation, variation across dialects and sociolects, learner language variation and variation as a result of language contact. Linguistic universals are highly theory dependent and can hardly be discussed outside a specific model or framework. The two major strands of linguistic research in which universals of language are currently discussed can broadly be characterized as either functionalist-inductive or formalistdeductive. Each of these frameworks has developed its own conceptions of universals and modes of explanation (system-external versus systeminternal)

Double threshold in bi- and multilingual contexts: preconditions for higher academic attainment in English as an additional language

Bi- and multilingualism has been shown to have positive effects on the attainment of third and additional lan-guages. These effects, however, depend on the type of bi- and multilingualism and the status of the languages involved (Cenoz 2003; Jessner 2006). In this explorative trend study, we revisit Cummins’ Threshold Hypothesis (1979), claiming that bilingual children must reach certain levels of attainment in order to a) avoid academic deficits and b) allow bilingualism to have a positive effect on their cognitive development and academic attain-ment. To this end, we examine the attainment of English as an academic language of 16-year-old school children from Hamburg (n=52). Our findings support the existence of thresholds for literacy attainment. We argue that language external factors may override positive effects of bilingualism. In addition, these factors may compensate negative effects attributable to low literacy attainment in German and the heritage languages. We also show that low attainment levels in migrant children’s heritage languages preempt high literacy attainment in additional languages