Structural variation in Old English root clauses

A standard observation concerning basic constituent order in Old English (OE) is that the position of finite verbs varies by clause type. In root clauses, the finite verb tends to occur toward the beginning of the clause, and we frequently find Verb Second (V2) order. In contrast, in subordinate clauses, finite verbs generally occur toward the end of the clause, and these clauses are frequently verb-final. We challenge the traditional assumption that verb-final orders and, hence, the occurrence of the finite verb in a head-final structural position are rare in OE root clauses. We present new data demonstrating that the frequency of head-final structure in OE root clauses is much higher than previously acknowledged. We then explore some of the implications of this finding for the general structural analysis of O

Split coordination in English : Why we need parsed corpora

In this article we provide a practical demonstration of how syntactically annotated corpora can be used to investigate research questions with a diachronic depth and synchronic breadth that would not otherwise be possible. The phenomenon under investigation, split coordination, affects every type of coordinated constituent (subject/object DPs, predicate and attributive ADJPs, ADVPs, PPs, and DP objects of P) in Old English; and it, or a superficially similar construction, occurs continuously throughout the attested period from approx. 800 to the present day. We bring to bear different types of evidence to argue that split coordination in fact represents two different constructions, one of which remains stable over time while the other is lost in the post-Middle English period

The interaction of syntactic change and information status effects in the change from OV to VO in English

It is well known that the position of constituents in a clause is influenced by information structure: the cross-linguistic generalization is that given information frequently comes early in the clause and new information is placed towards the end. In this article we investigate the relation between syntactic change and information status on alternations in Old English and Early Middle English verb-object order, OV vs. VO. Our main hypothesis is that syntactic change and the constraints of information status are independent. The analysis we present is based on 1500 AuxV and VAux clauses from seven Old English texts and three Middle English texts. We consider three independent variables that influence the position of objects within the clause: text, information status and syntactic complexity. We build a quantitative model with syntactic change over time proceeding independently of synchronic syntactic variation due to information status and syntactic complexity; we then test the model against the Old and Middle English data and also against Icelandic historical data exhibiting the same types of variation. We show that the patterns predicted by our model show up clearly in both English and Icelandic, strongly confirming our hypotheses.És ben conegut que la posició dels constituents en una frase és influenciada per l'estructura informativa: la generalització interlingüística és que la informació donada sovint apareix abans dins la frase i la informació nova es col·loca cap al final. En aquest article investiguem la relació entre el canvi sintàctic i l'estatus informatiu en alternances de l'ordre verb-objecte, OV i VO, en anglès antic i al principi de l'anglès mitjà. La hipòtesi principal és que el canvi sintàctic i les restriccions sobre l'estatus informatiu són independents. L'anàlisi que presentem es basa en 1500 frases AuxV i VAux de set textos de l'anglès antic i tres textos de l'anglès mitjà. Considerem tres variables independents que influeixen en la posició dels objectes dins de la frase: el text, l'estatus informatiu i la complexitat sintàctica. Desenvolupem un model quantitatiu del canvi sintàctic al llarg del temps, que procedeix independentment de la variació sintàctica sincrònica deguda a l'estatus informatiu i a la complexitat sintàctica; a continuació testem el model amb les dades de l'anglès antic i mitjà i també amb les dades històriques de l'islandès que mostren els mateixos tipus de variació. Mostrem com els patrons predits pel nostre model es manifesten clarament tant en anglès com en islandès, cosa que confirma fortament les nostres hipòtesis

An from Old to Middle English

A pilot study investigating the use of a(n) in Middle English texts, to determine whether the stage of development where a(n) acts as an overt existential operator, attested in Old english, continues into Middle English, and whether we can see the beginning of the later stage, where it is reduced to an expletive

Let us have articles betwixt us: Papers in Historical and Comparative Linguistics in Honour of Johanna L. Wood

Papers in Historical and Comparative Linguistics in Honour of Johanna L. Woo

Phrase structures in competition: Variation and change in Old English word order

This dissertation investigates variation and change in Old English word order from the ninth century to the beginning of the twelfth century, with special emphasis on the position of the verb. It is demonstrated that variation in surface word order is primarily a reflex of synchronic variation in underlying phrase structure. A structural analysis of Old English syntax is presented, and it is argued that variation in the surface position of the inflected verb is best explained by the hypothesis of alternating INFL-medial and INFL-final phrase structure, with obligatory transformational movement of the verb to INFL. This variation in underlying structure exists not only at the level of the speech community, but also within the usage of individuals. It is shown that in the general case, the verb-second phenomenon in Old English reflects verb movement to clause-medial INFL in both matrix and subordinate clauses, rather than verb movement to COMP limited to matrix clauses, as in Modern German and Dutch. In addition, evidence is provided for alternating OV and VO phrase structure during the Old English period. Verb movement to INFL, together with processes of postposition, syntactic cliticization of both pronouns and adverbs, verb (projection) raising, and further verb movement from INFL to COMP in a restricted set of exceptional matrix clause types, derives the attested word order patterns of Old English. The results of a quantitative study of the underlying position of INFL demonstrate that the frequency of INFL-medial phrase structure increases during the Old English period at the same rate in both matrix and subordinate clauses, supporting the hypothesis of identical structures and processes in the two clause types. Finally, the above analysis of Old English is used as a basis for suggesting the nature of the syntactic changes that occur during the Middle English period

Phrase structures in competition: Variation and change in Old English word order

This dissertation investigates variation and change in Old English word order from the ninth century to the beginning of the twelfth century, with special emphasis on the position of the verb. It is demonstrated that variation in surface word order is primarily a reflex of synchronic variation in underlying phrase structure. A structural analysis of Old English syntax is presented, and it is argued that variation in the surface position of the inflected verb is best explained by the hypothesis of alternating INFL-medial and INFL-final phrase structure, with obligatory transformational movement of the verb to INFL. This variation in underlying structure exists not only at the level of the speech community, but also within the usage of individuals. It is shown that in the general case, the verb-second phenomenon in Old English reflects verb movement to clause-medial INFL in both matrix and subordinate clauses, rather than verb movement to COMP limited to matrix clauses, as in Modern German and Dutch. In addition, evidence is provided for alternating OV and VO phrase structure during the Old English period. Verb movement to INFL, together with processes of postposition, syntactic cliticization of both pronouns and adverbs, verb (projection) raising, and further verb movement from INFL to COMP in a restricted set of exceptional matrix clause types, derives the attested word order patterns of Old English. The results of a quantitative study of the underlying position of INFL demonstrate that the frequency of INFL-medial phrase structure increases during the Old English period at the same rate in both matrix and subordinate clauses, supporting the hypothesis of identical structures and processes in the two clause types. Finally, the above analysis of Old English is used as a basis for suggesting the nature of the syntactic changes that occur during the Middle English period