Stylistic fronting in the history of English
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Masayuki Ohkado
Abstract
Stylistic fronting is an operation which moves elements generally occupying the position to the right of the finite verb such as adjectives, past participles, and adverbs to the position immediately preceding it in clauses with a subject gap. The operation is typically observed in Modern Icelandic and in earlier stages of the Scandinavian languages. In this article I will extensively examine Old and Middle English texts and show that word order patterns arguably attributed to stylistic fronting are widely observed both in Old and Middle English and are not confined to texts which are likely to have been heavily influenced by Old Norse speakers. This is contrary to Trips (2002), who attributes the presence of the stylistic fronting patterns in the Ormulum to the Scandinavian invasions. Taking into consideration the wide distribution of relevant examples, I will conclude that the process of stylistic fronting was a genuine property of Old and Middle English.
Abstract
Stylistic fronting is an operation which moves elements generally occupying the position to the right of the finite verb such as adjectives, past participles, and adverbs to the position immediately preceding it in clauses with a subject gap. The operation is typically observed in Modern Icelandic and in earlier stages of the Scandinavian languages. In this article I will extensively examine Old and Middle English texts and show that word order patterns arguably attributed to stylistic fronting are widely observed both in Old and Middle English and are not confined to texts which are likely to have been heavily influenced by Old Norse speakers. This is contrary to Trips (2002), who attributes the presence of the stylistic fronting patterns in the Ormulum to the Scandinavian invasions. Taking into consideration the wide distribution of relevant examples, I will conclude that the process of stylistic fronting was a genuine property of Old and Middle English.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
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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
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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
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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
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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
Chapters in this book
- 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
