Determinants of exaptation in Verb-Object predicates in the transition from Late Middle English to Early Modern English
-
Javier Pérez-Guerra
Abstract
While Verb-Object (VO) is the basic unmarked constituent order of predicates in Present-Day English, in older stages Object-Verb (OV) was the preferred option at least in certain syntactic contexts. This corpus-based study investigates OV linearisation after the loss of verb-second and focuses on morphosyntactic, processing, semantic and textual determinants of the VO/OV variation in the transition from Late Middle to Early Modern English. The findings reveal a shift from OV word order, ruled by systematic predictors in Late Middle English, to an essentially stylistic alternative in Early Modern English, when VO succeeded as the syntacticised organisation in English predicates. Also, in the later period, the postverbal slot was adapted to host constituents functioning as objects, which constitutes an illustration of exaptation.
Abstract
While Verb-Object (VO) is the basic unmarked constituent order of predicates in Present-Day English, in older stages Object-Verb (OV) was the preferred option at least in certain syntactic contexts. This corpus-based study investigates OV linearisation after the loss of verb-second and focuses on morphosyntactic, processing, semantic and textual determinants of the VO/OV variation in the transition from Late Middle to Early Modern English. The findings reveal a shift from OV word order, ruled by systematic predictors in Late Middle English, to an essentially stylistic alternative in Early Modern English, when VO succeeded as the syntacticised organisation in English predicates. Also, in the later period, the postverbal slot was adapted to host constituents functioning as objects, which constitutes an illustration of exaptation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
New perspectives
- Competing future constructions and the Complexity Principle 9
- Diachronic learner corpus research 41
- Rhoticity in Southern New Zealand English 69
-
Revisiting old debates
- “I’m putting some salt in my sandwich”. 93
- Determinants of exaptation in Verb-Object predicates in the transition from Late Middle English to Early Modern English 133
- Recent changes in spoken British English in verbal and nominal constructions 173
- “Oh yeah, one more thing: It’s gonna be huge.” 197
-
Refinements & innovations
- Retrieving Twitter argumentation with corpus queries and discourse analysis 229
- MuPDAR for corpus-based learner and variety studies 257
- A data-driven approach to finding significant changes in language use through time series analysis 285
- Index 319
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
New perspectives
- Competing future constructions and the Complexity Principle 9
- Diachronic learner corpus research 41
- Rhoticity in Southern New Zealand English 69
-
Revisiting old debates
- “I’m putting some salt in my sandwich”. 93
- Determinants of exaptation in Verb-Object predicates in the transition from Late Middle English to Early Modern English 133
- Recent changes in spoken British English in verbal and nominal constructions 173
- “Oh yeah, one more thing: It’s gonna be huge.” 197
-
Refinements & innovations
- Retrieving Twitter argumentation with corpus queries and discourse analysis 229
- MuPDAR for corpus-based learner and variety studies 257
- A data-driven approach to finding significant changes in language use through time series analysis 285
- Index 319
