Subject-verb agreement and the rise of do -support in the period of anglicisation of Scots
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Lisa Gotthard
Abstract
Scots subject-verb (S-V) agreement is historically distinct from that of (Standard) English, as Older Scots employed a version of the Northern Subject Rule (NSR). It has been suggested that the NSR is a similar last-resort operation to do-support (de Haas 2011), giving rise to the question of whether do-support entered grammar competition with the NSR when it emerged in Scots. Using the new Parsed Corpus of Scottish Correspondence (1540–1750), this study explores the presence of these S-V agreement strategies in 16th–18th century Scots, and investigates the possibility that NSR constraints influence the trajectory of Scots do-support. The findings indicate that the NSR declines as do-support emerges in the PCSC data, but apparently without interference from subject type constraints.
Abstract
Scots subject-verb (S-V) agreement is historically distinct from that of (Standard) English, as Older Scots employed a version of the Northern Subject Rule (NSR). It has been suggested that the NSR is a similar last-resort operation to do-support (de Haas 2011), giving rise to the question of whether do-support entered grammar competition with the NSR when it emerged in Scots. Using the new Parsed Corpus of Scottish Correspondence (1540–1750), this study explores the presence of these S-V agreement strategies in 16th–18th century Scots, and investigates the possibility that NSR constraints influence the trajectory of Scots do-support. The findings indicate that the NSR declines as do-support emerges in the PCSC data, but apparently without interference from subject type constraints.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Syntax and word order
- Parataxis and hypotaxis in the history of English 10
- Two types of left-dislocation in Old English 34
- Subject-verb agreement and the rise of do -support in the period of anglicisation of Scots 53
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Part II. Diachronic linguistic change
- A modern light on diachronic processes affecting coda /l/ in English 82
- Modality and the English subjunctive in noun clauses 103
- Some philological implications of punctuation in editions of Middle English texts 120
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Part III. Lexicography and lexis
- The unfinished double glosses in Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.iv.19 144
- Early modern manuscripts containing Old English dictionaries in England and northern Germany 166
- Loss of wiþer -words in English 191
- Investigating the dynamics of the lexicon 212
- Index 233
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Syntax and word order
- Parataxis and hypotaxis in the history of English 10
- Two types of left-dislocation in Old English 34
- Subject-verb agreement and the rise of do -support in the period of anglicisation of Scots 53
-
Part II. Diachronic linguistic change
- A modern light on diachronic processes affecting coda /l/ in English 82
- Modality and the English subjunctive in noun clauses 103
- Some philological implications of punctuation in editions of Middle English texts 120
-
Part III. Lexicography and lexis
- The unfinished double glosses in Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.iv.19 144
- Early modern manuscripts containing Old English dictionaries in England and northern Germany 166
- Loss of wiþer -words in English 191
- Investigating the dynamics of the lexicon 212
- Index 233
