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Information Structure and Syntactic Change in Germanic and Romance Languages
Edited by Kristin Bech and Kristine Gunn Eide
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 213] 2014
► pp. 271–294

Formal properties of event-reporting sentences in Old High German and Old French

| Bergische Universität Wuppertal
| Goethe-Universität Frankfurt

This article investigates the interplay between syntax and information structure by comparing the discourse conditions under which a special class of root clauses in two Old High German (OHG) and Old French (OF) texts occur. The focus is on sentences with post-verbal subjects and either the inflected verb or an adverbial phrase in sentence initial position. The empirical investigation shows that this pattern is preferred over the canonical SV orders in contexts which disfavour a topic–comment division in the clause.

Published online: 7 May 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.213.10pet
References

Text editions

OHG

Isidor
Der althochdeutsche Isidor. Nach der Pariser Handschrift und den Monseer Fragmenten , ed. H. Eggers. Tübingen: Niemeyer 1964.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tatian
Die lateinisch-althochdeutsche Tatianbilingue Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen Cod. 56, ed. A. Masser. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1994.Google Scholar

OF

Villehardouin
Josfroi de Villehardouin: La Conqueste de Costentinoble: d’après le manuscrit no. 2137 de laB.N., C.R.A.L.; Nancy, 1978.

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