Subject: phrase structures in competition : variation and change in old eng

pintzuk , susan ; phrase structures in competition : variation and change in old english word order ; 0-8153 - 3269 - 6 , cloth ; pages 285 , $ 63 ; garland publishing ; outstanding dissertations in linguistics this book investigates variation and change in old english word order , with special emphasis on the position of the verb . it is argued that variation in surface word order is primarily a reflex of synchronic variation in underlying structure , head-initial vs . head-final . in particular , variation in the position of the verb is best explained by an analysis of competing head-initial and head-final structure within both vp and ip , with obligatory movement of the finite verb to i . together with processes of postposition , cliticization , and further verb movement from i to c in a restricted set of exceptional clause types , this derives the attested word order patterns of old english . the verb-second phenomenon in old english can then be seen to involve verb movement to clause-medial i in both main and subordinate clauses , as in yiddish and icelandic , rather than verb movement to c in main clauses only , as in german and dutch . the structural analysis is proposed on the basis of standard distributional tests used in formal syntactic theory . this structural analysis is then further supported by quantitative evidence using methodology adapted from sociolinguistic approaches to language variation and change . it is demonstrated that the frequency of i - initial structure increases during the old english period at the same rate in both main and subordinate clauses , supporting the hypothesis of identical structures and processes in the two clause types . this book with be of interest to scholars in the areas of old english syntax , germanic syntax , and syntactic variation and change . e - mail : info @ garland . com
