A Quantitative Analysis of the Loss of V2 in the History of English (original) (raw)

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the variability and loss of the Verb-Second (V2) constraint in late Middle English (1350-1500). It highlights distinct dialectal behaviors, particularly between the east midlands, which were influenced by language contact, and the south and west midlands, where independent syntactic changes were responsible for the reduction of V2. The findings suggest that the south and west midlands began showing signs of V2 loss by 1400, while this change in the east midlands occurred later, around 1500, indicating a delayed onset of grammar competition.