The Syntax of Early English

by Olga Fischer , Ans van Kemenade , Willem Koopman , Wim van der Wurff

• ISBN13: 9780521554107
• ISBN10: 0521554101
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-01-08
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book is a guide to the development of English syntax between the Old and Modern periods. Beginning with an overview of the main features of early English syntax, it gives a unified account of the significant grammatical changes that occurred during this period. Four leading experts demonstrate how these changes can be explained in terms of grammatical theory and the theory of language acquisition. Drawing on a wealth of empirical data, the book covers a wide range of topics including changes in word order, infinitival constructions and grammaticalization processes.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
List of editions used	x
Language change and grammar change	1	(36)
Introduction	1	(1)
Historical change, language acquisition and the Principles and Parameters model	2	(17)
Grammar change and language change	19	(7)
Methodology and the role of data	26	(9)
Overview of the book	35	(2)
An outline of Old English syntax	37	(31)
Introduction	37	(1)
Morphology and case assignment	37	(9)
Word order	46	(7)
Some clause types	53	(2)
Subordinate clauses	55	(9)
Preposition stranding	64	(4)
An outline of Middle English syntax	68	(36)
Introductory remarks	68	(1)
Morphology and case assignment	69	(10)
Word order	79	(4)
Clause types	83	(5)
Subordinate clauses	88	(16)
The Verb-Second constraint and its loss	104	(34)
Introduction	104	(1)
The facts	105	(5)
The position of the finite verb: Verb-Second?	110	(19)
Developments after the Old English period	129	(9)
The loss of object-verb word order	138	(42)
Introduction	138	(1)
Old English: the basic facts	139	(6)
Old English word order: OV or VO?	145	(15)
Middle English: the basic facts	160	(4)
Analysing the Middle English word order patterns	164	(8)
The diachrony of OV and VO order	172	(8)
Verb-particles in Old and Middle English	180	(31)
Introduction	180	(1)
Particles: some general considerations	181	(4)
Particles in Old English	185	(5)
Position of the particle marks the position of the verb before movement	190	(7)
The universal base hypothesis	197	(2)
Some remaining problems: particles separated from the verb (part...V)	199	(2)
Particles in Middle English	201	(9)
Conclusion	210	(1)
Changes in infinitival constructions	211	(45)
Introduction	211	(3)
New infinitival constructions: constructions containing a lexical subject	214	(27)
Borrowing and internal factors: the Latin AcI in the history of Dutch	241	(15)
Appendices	248	(8)
The history of the `easy-to-plase' construction	256	(28)
Introduction	256	(1)
Theoretical issues in the analysis of `easy-to-please'	257	(4)
Data and analysis for Old English	261	(10)
Data and analysis for Middle English	271	(6)
Explaining the changes in Middle English	277	(7)
Grammaticalization and grammar change	284	(38)
Introduction	284	(2)
Grammaticalization theory	286	(7)
Two case studies	293	(29)
Appendix	320	(2)
References	322	(14)
Index	336