The Syntax of Early English - Cryptm.org

206 The syntax of early Englishbeyond, as we saw in chapters 4 and 5, it is a good deal more difficult to findout whether the learner had enough evidence available in the languageenvironment to recognize that particles were stranded by V-movement. Somevery, perhaps impossibly, detailed data research will need to be done beforethis question can be answered.6.7.2 Analyses ofthe change in particle positionThe surface syntax of Middle English is predominantly VO (see chapters3 and 5). For those who analyse Old English as an underlying OV languagethis represents a change in the base word order: the verb now precedesits complement. In section 6.7.2.1 we will describe how particles are affectedby this change and what effect this has on the generalization that particlesmark the base position of the verb.As we have said earlier, recent theoretical developments have led to thehypothesis that all languages have complements to the right of their heads, sothat they have a base VO word order. In this view the change in Middle Englishsyntax lies in the loss of overt movement of objects to the left of the verb, sothat they are now found in their base position to the right of the verb. Particles,which in Old English must move too to appear on the left of the verb, nolonger appear to be doing so. In section 6.7.2.2 we will consider some of theadvantages of such an approach and also note some problems a minimalistanalysis faces in accounting for this change.6.7.2.1 OV→VO: particles no longer mark the position of the verb in MiddleEnglishThere is a clear increase in VO surface patterns when we compare lateOld English texts with even the earliest Middle English texts (see chapter 5).The suddenness of the change may be more apparent than real because thelate Old English texts were standardized and formal in nature, and perhaps notaltogether representative of the language of the time when they were written.SVO predominates in Middle English texts, right from the beginning of theperiod. We have seen in section 6.3 that part . . . V order is often found in OVsurface patterns and that V . . . part can be analysed as the result of V-movementto F as discussed in chapter 4. V to F does not disappear until later inMiddle English and not everywhere at the same time, as discussed in chapter 4.The change to VO conceals much of the evidence for V-movement to F insubordinate clauses. Particles and pronominal objects now naturally appear tothe right not only of the finite verb, but also of the non-finite verb (if there isone). It was the virtual absence of particles/pronouns after the non-finite verb