Chapter 5: Syntax
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Jeremy J. Smith
Abstract
Recent research has emphasized the importance of performance/parole as much as competence/langue in linguistic theory; a good example is William Kretzschmar’s (2009) The Linguistics of Speech. This chapter offers a qualitative analysis of a series of four short Middle English texts, both in verse and prose, to illustrate developments in syntax during the period. These analyses engage not only with modern notions of syntactic structure but also with medieval ideas; whereas many modern grammarians reify the grammatical conception of the sentence, medieval thinking focused on rhetorical structure, in which the sentence was primarily a semantic notion and the units of analysis were the “period”, the “colon” and the “comma”. Issues of variation - dialectal, diachronic, and genre-driven - are also addressed. Topics arising from these analyses and discussed here include coordination and subordination, element-order practices, concord, changes in the structure of noun- and verb-phrases, and negation.
Abstract
Recent research has emphasized the importance of performance/parole as much as competence/langue in linguistic theory; a good example is William Kretzschmar’s (2009) The Linguistics of Speech. This chapter offers a qualitative analysis of a series of four short Middle English texts, both in verse and prose, to illustrate developments in syntax during the period. These analyses engage not only with modern notions of syntactic structure but also with medieval ideas; whereas many modern grammarians reify the grammatical conception of the sentence, medieval thinking focused on rhetorical structure, in which the sentence was primarily a semantic notion and the units of analysis were the “period”, the “colon” and the “comma”. Issues of variation - dialectal, diachronic, and genre-driven - are also addressed. Topics arising from these analyses and discussed here include coordination and subordination, element-order practices, concord, changes in the structure of noun- and verb-phrases, and negation.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Abbreviations VII
- Chapter 1: Introduction 1
- Chapter 2: Middle English: Overview 8
- Chapter 3: Phonology 29
- Chapter 4: Morphology 50
- Chapter 5: Syntax 76
- Chapter 6: Semantics and Lexicon 96
- Chapter 7: Pragmatics and Discourse 116
- Chapter 8: Dialects 134
- Chapter 9: Language Contact: Multilingualism 165
- Chapter 10: Language Contact: French 184
- Chapter 11: Standardization 205
- Chapter 12: Middle English Creolization 224
- Chapter 13: Sociolinguistics 239
- Chapter 14: Literary Language 261
- Chapter 15: The Language of Chaucer 292
- Index 307
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Abbreviations VII
- Chapter 1: Introduction 1
- Chapter 2: Middle English: Overview 8
- Chapter 3: Phonology 29
- Chapter 4: Morphology 50
- Chapter 5: Syntax 76
- Chapter 6: Semantics and Lexicon 96
- Chapter 7: Pragmatics and Discourse 116
- Chapter 8: Dialects 134
- Chapter 9: Language Contact: Multilingualism 165
- Chapter 10: Language Contact: French 184
- Chapter 11: Standardization 205
- Chapter 12: Middle English Creolization 224
- Chapter 13: Sociolinguistics 239
- Chapter 14: Literary Language 261
- Chapter 15: The Language of Chaucer 292
- Index 307
