The reflexes of OE beon as a marker of futurity in early Middle English
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Margaret Laing
Abstract
In Old English the finite forms of the bLroot for ‘be’ (beo, bist, bið, etc.) were more likely to appear in contexts involving futurity than the sLroot (eom, eart, is, etc). The use of the bLroot for future continues into Middle English. During the compilation of LAEME, we have observed that the complex and variable Old English distinction can become simplified and systematized. In early Middle English the use of bLforms in the present indicative singular is in some text languages1 restricted entirely to future senses. In the areas where the bLroot is the norm for present indicative plural, this system is confined to the singular. But in the North and to a certain extent the North Midlands, where ar-/erLforms are available, the system is extended into the plural. Ilse Wischer’s contribution to this volume offers fascinating and detailed insights into the different forms of the verb ‘to be’ in Old English and their distinctive functions. This paper looks mainly at subsequent developments. It therefore only briefly summarizes the Old English distinctions as background to a micro-dialectal study of three subsystems that emerge during early Middle English. Their identification gives rise to further questions that might reward investigation in the future.
Abstract
In Old English the finite forms of the bLroot for ‘be’ (beo, bist, bið, etc.) were more likely to appear in contexts involving futurity than the sLroot (eom, eart, is, etc). The use of the bLroot for future continues into Middle English. During the compilation of LAEME, we have observed that the complex and variable Old English distinction can become simplified and systematized. In early Middle English the use of bLforms in the present indicative singular is in some text languages1 restricted entirely to future senses. In the areas where the bLroot is the norm for present indicative plural, this system is confined to the singular. But in the North and to a certain extent the North Midlands, where ar-/erLforms are available, the system is extended into the plural. Ilse Wischer’s contribution to this volume offers fascinating and detailed insights into the different forms of the verb ‘to be’ in Old English and their distinctive functions. This paper looks mainly at subsequent developments. It therefore only briefly summarizes the Old English distinctions as background to a micro-dialectal study of three subsystems that emerge during early Middle English. Their identification gives rise to further questions that might reward investigation in the future.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
part iVerbal constructions
- “Þonne hate we hine morgensteorra” 11
- Tracking and explaining variation and change in the grammar of American English 29
- Prevent and the battle of the - ing clauses 45
- Prescription or practice? 63
- On the idiomatization of “ give + O + to ” constructions 79
- The clausal complementation of good in extraposition constructions 95
-
part iiModality and (marginal) modals
- The ‘ fail to ’ construction in Late Modern and Present-Day English 123
- The interplay of modal verbs and adverbs 143
- Current change in the modal system of English 165
-
part iiiDevelopments in the English noun phrase
- Discontinuous quantificational structures in Old English 185
- Genitive variation in letters, history writing and sermons in Late Middle and Early Modern English 197
-
part ivSyntactic variation and change through contact
- On the use of beon and wesan in Old English 217
- The reflexes of OE beon as a marker of futurity in early Middle English 237
- Stylistic fronting in the history of English 255
- Subject and Word index 279
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
part iVerbal constructions
- “Þonne hate we hine morgensteorra” 11
- Tracking and explaining variation and change in the grammar of American English 29
- Prevent and the battle of the - ing clauses 45
- Prescription or practice? 63
- On the idiomatization of “ give + O + to ” constructions 79
- The clausal complementation of good in extraposition constructions 95
-
part iiModality and (marginal) modals
- The ‘ fail to ’ construction in Late Modern and Present-Day English 123
- The interplay of modal verbs and adverbs 143
- Current change in the modal system of English 165
-
part iiiDevelopments in the English noun phrase
- Discontinuous quantificational structures in Old English 185
- Genitive variation in letters, history writing and sermons in Late Middle and Early Modern English 197
-
part ivSyntactic variation and change through contact
- On the use of beon and wesan in Old English 217
- The reflexes of OE beon as a marker of futurity in early Middle English 237
- Stylistic fronting in the history of English 255
- Subject and Word index 279
