The Syntax of Early English - Cryptm.org

Language change and grammar change 35importance in interpreting our cases of language change as possible cases ofgrammar change, we will counterbalance this by presenting the theoreticalconsiderations as interesting hypotheses, subject to empirical verification.Thus, each of the case studies we discuss in detail will provide an argumentwith respect to the syntactic construction under discussion. Because the casestudies emerge from our own ongoing research, we are committed to a certainanalysis of the case (our own!), but, we like to think, with sufficient distanceto give an argued and balanced view of the literature.1.5 Overview of the bookAfter this lengthy exposition, we give an overview of the chapters thatfollow. Chapters 2 and 3 give a descriptive survey of the core features of thesyntax of Old and Middle English respectively. In these chapters, extra prominenceis given to those features that are not discussed in detail in the remainderof the book. Chapters 4–9 present case studies on important syntacticchanges in the history of English. The choice of topics is inspired by two combinedconsiderations: the first is that they emerge from our own ongoingresearch, which is, of course, where we have the most to offer to the reader; thesecond is that they are connected with issues which are currently in the focusof interest in English historical linguistics.Chapter 4 is on the development of the Verb-Second characteristics, suchas they were, of Old English. Old English had some version of the Verb-Second constraint as we know it in the present-day Germanic languages. Thechapter takes the reader through the development of ideas and arguments asthey have emerged over the past decade or so.Chapter 5 is on the development of OV/VO word orders in the course of theOld and Middle English periods. The topic is an evergreen, albeit one that hasreceived increased attention with the advent of typological work from avariety of theoretical perspectives. The chapter considers recent Principles andParameters work, and the arguments are examined for regarding Old Englishas basically OV, basically VO, or a mix of both OV and VO. The gradual shiftto VO order plays an important role in these arguments.Chapter 6 is about the historical development of phrasal verbs such as callup, take off. During the Old English period the particles that are nowadayspart of the phrasal verbs, or preverbs as they are often called in the traditionalliterature, tended to signal the base position of the verb. Their position thereforecorrelated with that of the verb in the development from OV to VO order,as in chapter 5. After the establishment of VO order, this correlation broke