scholarly journals Structural variation in Old English root clauses

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Pintzuk ◽  
Eric Haeberli
Keyword(s):  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Old English ◽  
Structural Variation ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Structural Position ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Traditional Assumption ◽  
Constituent Order ◽  
Basic Constituent ◽  
Finite Verb

AbstractA 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 OE.

scholarly journals Old English Syntax and Its Relation to German

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freja Bang Lauridsen
Keyword(s):  
Old English ◽  
German Language ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Constituent Order ◽  
English Syntax ◽  
The Relationship

At first glance, the syntax of ancient Old English appears reminiscent of the syntax of the Present-Day German language. A number of shared syntactic traits such as Subject Object Verb constituent order, Verb Second, and a complicated inflectional system have caused the two languages to be compared by scholars, who often have referred to German as simply a present-day version of the now far-gone Old English. Exploring both similarities and dissimilarities of the two languages, this article examines the relationship between the two languages’ syntax to show that although structurally similar once, modern-day English has lost most of the syntactic traits linking it to the German language and their common Proto-Germanic roots. These syntactical differences not only show that Old English was never just a modern-day variant of German but also show that the two languages are developing in separate directions – or at least in separate paces.

The Constituent Order ofHwæt-Clauses in Old English Prose

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Anna Cichosz
Keyword(s):  
Old English ◽  
Regular Variation ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Free Relatives ◽  
Lives Of Saints ◽  
English Prose ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Constituent Order

The aim of the present study is to conduct a comprehensive corpus analysis of the constituent order of main declarative clauses with the interjectionhwæt‘what’ in the clause-initial position in Old English prose texts. On the basis of his analysis of Ælfric'sLives of Saintsand Bede'sHistoria Ecclesiastica, Walkden (2013) claims that suchhwæt-clauses pattern with subordinate clauses with respect to their verb position. My study confirms Walkden's basic empirical findings thathwæt-clauses do not behave like typical main clauses as far as their constituent order is concerned. However, there are numerous differences between them and subordinate clauses introduced byhwæt, that is, free relatives and embedded questions. The analysis suggests that the conditions favoring the use of the V-final order in mainhwæt-clauses resemble the ones identified for ordinary V-final main clauses in Bech 2012. What is more, the study shows that the functional differences betweenhwæt-andhwæt þa-clauses noted in Brinton 1996 are blurred in Old English prose because of a regular variation betweenhwæt þa-S andhwæt-S-þapatterns. The data also suggest thatþainhwæt þa-clauses should rather be analyzed as an independent clause element.

scholarly journals Medieval English root clauses

Literator ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-154
Author(s):  
H. W. Broekman
Keyword(s):  
Middle English ◽  
Old English ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Complementary Distribution ◽  
Embedded Clauses ◽  
Finite Verb

The movement operation Verb Second moves the finite verb from its base-generated position in VP to C via the I node within the Chomsky (1986) framework. As the finite verb and the complementiser are in complementary distribution, the above predicts that, contrary to fact, Verb Second is not possible in embedded clauses. However, in Frisian and Swedish Verb Second does occur in embedded clauses. This entails that a lexical complementiser does not always prevent a finite verb from undergoing Verb Second. 'The aim of this paper is to provide a survey of Old English and Middle English root clauses particularly with respect to Verb Second. Old English does not strictly conform to Verb Second in declarative root clauses. In Old English finite verbs also occur in first position and in third position in declarative root clauses. A comparison with Icelandic data will be provided as this language displays all three verb placements in declarative head main clauses as well.

scholarly journals Diagnosing embedded V2 in Old English and Old French

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Meklenborg Salvesen ◽  
George Walkden
Keyword(s):  
Old English ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Old French ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Matrix Verb ◽  
Finite Verb

Old English (OE) and Old French (OF) both display verb-second (V2) word order in main declarative clauses. Different models may account for V2: (a) the finite verb must move to a head in the CP field; (b) it must remain in the IP field; or (c) it moves to the left periphery only when the preceding XP is not a subject. While the IP-model should allow free embedded V2, the two others would either exclude completely or strongly limit the possibilty of having embedded V2. We select embedded that-clauses and analyse the word order with respect to the matrix verb: embedded V2 is possible in both OE and OF, although the availability of this structure is restricted. OE has very few occurrences of embedded V2, whereas OF seems to permit this construction more freely. We link this difference to the site of first Merge of complementizers in the two languages.

Variation and change in Old English clause structure

1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Pintzuk
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Old English ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Constant Rate ◽  
English Syntax ◽  
Verb Raising ◽  
Finite Verb

ABSTRACTIn most recent analyses of Old English syntax, the position of the finite verb is derived by different processes in main clauses (verb seconding) than in subordinate clauses (postposition, verb raising, verb projection raising). In this article, it is argued on the basis of distributional evidence that the position of the finite verb in Old English clauses reflects synchronic variation in underlying structure, INFL-medial versusinfl-final, and that the syntax of main and subordinate clauses is the same. Quantitative analysis of the data shows that the frequency ofinfl-medial structure increases at the expense ofinfl-final structure during the Old English period, and that the rate of change is the same in both clause types. This result supports the structural analysis and provides further evidence for the Constant Rate Hypothesis of Kroch (1989, 1995).

A Survey of Generative Analyses of the Verb Second Phenomenon in Germanic

1985 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christer Platzack
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Final Part ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Transformational Grammar ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Germanic Languages ◽  
Finite Verb

This paper reviews various approaches to describe the verb second phenomenon of Germanic languages within generative transformational grammar. The solution to the descriptive problem seems to be to assume that the finite verb in main clauses has the same position as the complementizer in subordinate clauses. Various ways to explain the presence of this word order in Germanic languages are presented in the final part of the paper.

Two locations for negation

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 205-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadaf Munshi ◽  
Rajesh Bhatt
Keyword(s):  
Verb Second ◽  
High Position ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Finite Verb ◽  
Structural Positions

Kashmiri has two structural positions for negation: a high position associated with focus and a low position associated with tense. In verb second environments, the difference between these two positions is neutralized on the surface and irrespective of the location where negation is generated, it appears as a suffix on the finite verb. But in non-verb second environments such as conditionals and correlatives the two negations can be teased apart. In these environments, the high negation appears as a suffix on material such as relative phrases and the conditional marker while the low negation appears as a suffix on the finite verb. The high vs. low distinction has semantic implications: in certain environments where the negation is arguably ‘expletive’, negation can only be high.

A typological analysis of the Chained-Aorist construction in Ayt Atta Tamazight (Berber)

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Mauri
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Finite Verb

Clause-linking mechanisms are subject to cross-linguistic variation. As far as non-subordinate clauses are concerned, any combination of two clauses may show two predicates mutually equal or different in terms of finiteness: these are known as co-ranking and clause-chaining structures, respectively (Longacre 2007: 375). Clause-chaining constructions show two structural possibilities, namely medial-final and initial-medial chaining, depending on whether the more-finite verb follows or precedes the less-finite one. Clause-chaining constructions are found in unrelated language families scattered across the globe, including Afroasiatic (Longacre 1990). However, the existing typological literature on the topic has totally neglected Berber, another Afroasiatic language. This work focuses on a clause-linking strategy found in Ayt Atta Tamazight (Berber, henceforth AAT) and in other Berber languages, the so-called Chained-Aorist construction (henceforth C-AOR). Stemming from my fieldwork on AAT, this paper provides an innovative typological analysis of C-AOR, analysing it in terms of initial-medial clause chaining.

Pre-folding fracturing in a foredeep environment: insights from the Carseolani Mountains (central Apennines, Italy)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Marco Mercuri ◽  
Luca Smeraglia ◽  
Manuel Curzi ◽  
Stefano Tavani ◽  
Roberta Maffucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Fracture Pattern ◽  
Pressure Solution ◽  
Fold Axis ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Central Apennines ◽  
Structural Position ◽  
Deformation Structures ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Belt System

Abstract Bedding-perpendicular joints striking parallel (longitudinal) and perpendicular (transverse) to both the axis of the hosting anticline and the trend of the foredeep-belt system are widely recognized in fold-and-thrust belts. Their occurrence has been commonly attributed to folding-related processes, such as syn-folding outer-arc extension, although they can also be consistent with a pre-folding foredeep-related fracturing stage. Here we report the pre-folding fracture pattern affecting the Pietrasecca Anticline, in the central Apennines (Italy), resolved by a detailed field structural analysis. Field observations, scan-lines and interpretation of virtual outcrops were used to study the intensity, distribution and the orientations of fracture pattern along the anticline. The fracture pattern of the Pietrasecca Anticline consists of longitudinal and transverse joints, oriented approximately perpendicular to bedding, and of a pre-folding longitudinal pressure-solution cleavage set, which is oblique to bedding regardless of the bedding dip. Cross-cutting relationships show that joints predated the development of the pressure-solution cleavage. Furthermore, joint intensity does not relate to the structural position along the anticline. Taken together, these observations suggest that jointing occurred in a foredeep environment before the Pietrasecca Anticline growth. Our work further demonstrates that joints striking parallel and orthogonal to the main fold axis do not necessarily represent syn-folding deformation structures.

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