Grammaticalization and Parametric Variation (original) (raw)

Clause Type Asymmetries in Old English and the Syntax of Verb Movement Eric Haeberli* Old English (OE) exhibits main clause / subordinate clause word order asymmetries comparable to those found in modern West Germanic languages such as Dutch or German. Finite verbs generally occur near the beginning of a main clause whereas they tend to occur towards the end of subordinate clauses. Furthermore (in contrast to modern West Germanic), it has been observed that conjoined main clauses often have subordinate clause word order in OE. This chapter addresses the question of how these clause type asymmetries can be accounted for. Section 1 presents the main word order properties of OE and some quantitative data concerning the distribution of finite verbs in different types of clauses. Recent proposals for the structural analysis of the OE word order patterns are presented in section 2, and some problems for the treatment of subordinate clauses are discussed. Section 3 presents a solution to these problems in terms of Bobaljik and Thráinsson's (1998) analysis of verb movement in modern Germanic. The remainder of the paper then explores some consequences of this approach with respect to the analysis of conjoined clauses and the development of verb movement in the history of English. 1 The distribution of finite verbs in Old English As often observed in the literature, one of the characteristic properties of OE word order is the variation in the distribution of finite verbs in different types of clauses (cf. e.g. Bacquet 1962, Mitchell 1985, Traugott 1992, van Kemenade 1987). In main clauses, the verb tends to occur in a position near the beginning of the clause. This leads to frequent Verb Second (V2) orders as shown in (1). 1 (1) a. [He] com on Breotone mid fyrde. (SV…) (Bede 1:5.32.16.257) He came to Britain with army b. [Ðas gifu] sealde seo ceasterwaru on Tharsum Apollonio þam tiriscan. (OV…) (ApT:10.16.181) This gift gave the citizens in Tharsus Apollonius the Tyrian ' The citizens of Tharsus gave this gift to A. the Tyrian.' c. And [egeslice] spaec Gregorius be ðam … (AdvV…) (Whom 10c:48.865) And sternly spoke Gregorius about that ' And Gregorius spoke sternly about that …' In subordinate clauses, however, there is a tendency for the verb to be placed towards the end of the clause. This is illustrated by the following clauses (from van Kemenade 1987:16/19). (2) a. þaet ic þas boc of Ledenum gereorde to Engliscre spraece awende (AECHom I [Pref]:174.48.5) that I this book from Latin language to English tongue translate ' … that I translate this book from Latin to English.' b. þaet Darius hie mid gefeohte secan wolde (Or 2:5.45.30.867) that Darius them for battle visit wanted ' … that Darius wanted to seek them out for a battle.' Finally, with respect to conjoined clauses, and in particular second conjuncts introduced by conjunctions, it has been observed that they "tend to be verb-final, like subordinate clauses"