Preverbal word order in Old English and Old French
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Kristin Bech
Abstract
Old English (OE) and Old French (OF) are often referred to as verb-second (V2) languages. While it is the case that the verb may appear in second clause position after a non-subject-initial element in both languages, they are dissimilar in a number of features. In this paper, we consider the preverbal elements of OE and OF main clauses in which the subject also precedes the verb. First we give an overview of the word order distribution of the preverbal elements. Then we go on to consider the syntactic implications of the empirical findings, showing that OF is a homogeneous language with true V2 syntax, whereas OE has a much looser syntax. In the last section, we show how the syntax of OE provides a frame within which contextual factors are allowed to play their part in a subtle manner, a possibility OF does not have. We conclude that using the tag ‘V2’ in a comparison of the two languages does more to mask their nature than to reveal it.
Abstract
Old English (OE) and Old French (OF) are often referred to as verb-second (V2) languages. While it is the case that the verb may appear in second clause position after a non-subject-initial element in both languages, they are dissimilar in a number of features. In this paper, we consider the preverbal elements of OE and OF main clauses in which the subject also precedes the verb. First we give an overview of the word order distribution of the preverbal elements. Then we go on to consider the syntactic implications of the empirical findings, showing that OF is a homogeneous language with true V2 syntax, whereas OE has a much looser syntax. In the last section, we show how the syntax of OE provides a frame within which contextual factors are allowed to play their part in a subtle manner, a possibility OF does not have. We conclude that using the tag ‘V2’ in a comparison of the two languages does more to mask their nature than to reveal it.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Information structure and syntax in old Germanic and Romance languages 1
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Part I. Information-structural categories and corpus annotation
- The theoretical foundations of givenness annotation 17
- Testing the theory 53
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Part II. Changes on the interface between syntax and information structure
- Quantifying information structure change in English 81
- Tracing overlap in function in historical corpora 111
- Referential properties of the full and reduced forms of the definite article in German 141
- The cognitive status of null subject referents in Old Norse and their Modern Norwegian counterparts 173
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Part III. Comparisons on the interface between syntax and information structure
- Word order variation in late Middle English 203
- Preverbal word order in Old English and Old French 233
- Formal properties of event-reporting sentences in Old High German and Old French 271
- Subjects and objects in Germanic and Romance 295
- Object position and Heavy NP Shift in Old Saxon and beyond 313
- On the interaction between syntax, prosody and information structure 341
- Contrastivity and information structure in the old Ibero-Romance languages 377
- Index of languages 413
- Databases and annotation schemes 415
- Word index 417
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Information structure and syntax in old Germanic and Romance languages 1
-
Part I. Information-structural categories and corpus annotation
- The theoretical foundations of givenness annotation 17
- Testing the theory 53
-
Part II. Changes on the interface between syntax and information structure
- Quantifying information structure change in English 81
- Tracing overlap in function in historical corpora 111
- Referential properties of the full and reduced forms of the definite article in German 141
- The cognitive status of null subject referents in Old Norse and their Modern Norwegian counterparts 173
-
Part III. Comparisons on the interface between syntax and information structure
- Word order variation in late Middle English 203
- Preverbal word order in Old English and Old French 233
- Formal properties of event-reporting sentences in Old High German and Old French 271
- Subjects and objects in Germanic and Romance 295
- Object position and Heavy NP Shift in Old Saxon and beyond 313
- On the interaction between syntax, prosody and information structure 341
- Contrastivity and information structure in the old Ibero-Romance languages 377
- Index of languages 413
- Databases and annotation schemes 415
- Word index 417
