Variation in the form and function of the possessive morpheme in Late Middle and Early Modern English
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Teo Juvonen
Abstract
This paper analyses the morphosyntactic nature of the possessive -s in the Late Middle and Early Modern English periods. As is well known, the possessive -s, or the inflectional genitive, was increasingly replaced by the of-possessive during the Middle English period (Mustanoja 1960; Fischer 1992; Allen 2003). By the Late Middle English period the possessive -s occurred almost exclusively in cases where the possessor was an animate, human entity. Furthermore the possessor phrase was typically short, only one or two words long, and complex possessors were avoided. Nonetheless, in this context the possessive -s was the most frequent, neutral possessive construction of choice in most genres. I argue that by the Early Modern English period, at the latest, the possessive -s can no longer be categorized as an inflectional case due to the syntactic and semantic constraints on its use. However, neither can it unproblematically be categorized as a clitic. Rather than insist on a specific categorization, I present the types of orthographic, morphosyntactic and semantic evidence available relevant to its classification, based on a corpus of about 900,000 words and about 5,000 tokens.
Abstract
This paper analyses the morphosyntactic nature of the possessive -s in the Late Middle and Early Modern English periods. As is well known, the possessive -s, or the inflectional genitive, was increasingly replaced by the of-possessive during the Middle English period (Mustanoja 1960; Fischer 1992; Allen 2003). By the Late Middle English period the possessive -s occurred almost exclusively in cases where the possessor was an animate, human entity. Furthermore the possessor phrase was typically short, only one or two words long, and complex possessors were avoided. Nonetheless, in this context the possessive -s was the most frequent, neutral possessive construction of choice in most genres. I argue that by the Early Modern English period, at the latest, the possessive -s can no longer be categorized as an inflectional case due to the syntactic and semantic constraints on its use. However, neither can it unproblematically be categorized as a clitic. Rather than insist on a specific categorization, I present the types of orthographic, morphosyntactic and semantic evidence available relevant to its classification, based on a corpus of about 900,000 words and about 5,000 tokens.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Dealing with postmodified possessors in early English 1
- Variation in the form and function of the possessive morpheme in Late Middle and Early Modern English 35
- The great regression 59
- Nominal categories and the expression of possession 89
- Expression of possession in English 123
- A cognitive analysis of John’s hat 149
- The oblique genitive in English 177
- The marker of the English “Group Genitive” is a special clitic, not an inflection 193
- Two prenominal possessors in West Flemish 219
- A Mozart sonata and the Palme murder 253
- Possessive clitics and ezafe in Urdu 291
- References 323
- Index 339
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Dealing with postmodified possessors in early English 1
- Variation in the form and function of the possessive morpheme in Late Middle and Early Modern English 35
- The great regression 59
- Nominal categories and the expression of possession 89
- Expression of possession in English 123
- A cognitive analysis of John’s hat 149
- The oblique genitive in English 177
- The marker of the English “Group Genitive” is a special clitic, not an inflection 193
- Two prenominal possessors in West Flemish 219
- A Mozart sonata and the Palme murder 253
- Possessive clitics and ezafe in Urdu 291
- References 323
- Index 339
