Article published in:
A micro-perspective on Verb Second in Romance and GermanicEdited by Christine Meklenborg Salvesen
[Linguistic Variation 19:1] 2019
► pp. 118–140
Main and embedded clausal asymmetry in the history of English
Changes in assertive and non-assertive complements
Elly van Gelderen | Arizona State University
In this paper, I sketch the CP layer in main and embedded
clauses in the history of English. The Modern English main clause is not as
easily expandable as the Old English one, but the reverse is true in the
subordinate clause, where Modern English has a more flexible embedded CP than
Old English. I focus on the developments of the embedded CP. It has been claimed
that Old English lacks an embedded split CP and therefore lacks embedded V2 and
a host of other embedded root phenomena. I show this to be true for complements
to both assertive and non-assertive verbs. In contrast, the Modern English
matrix verb has an effect on the strength of the C-position. Assertive verbs in
Modern English allow main clause phenomena in subordinate clauses whereas
non-assertives typically do not. The main point of the paper is to chronicle the
changes that ‘stretch’ the embedded clause and the changing role of main verbs.
It is descriptive rather than explanatory, e.g., in terms of changes in
phase-head status.
Keywords: assertive and non-assertives, complementizers, root phenomena, split CP
Published online: 24 September 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/lv.15019.gel
https://doi.org/10.1075/lv.15019.gel
References
References
Farkas, Donka
Fischer, Olga
Haeberli, Eric
Hinterhölzl, Roland & Ans van Kemenade
Hooper, Joan
Hooper, Joan & Sandra Thompson
Julien, Marit
[ p. 139 ]
Kemenade, Ans van
Kiparsky, Paul & Carol Kiparsky
Kroch, Anthony & Ann Taylor
López Martínez, Sergio
2015 Embedded topicalization in Old English: does it exist? SELIM
XVII. http://www.academia.edu/15940498/Embedded_Topicalisation_in_Old_English_Does_it_exist
Meinunger, André
Pintzuk, Susan
Roberts, Ian
Salvesen, Christine
2014 Traces of History. ms. http://www.hf.uio.no/ilos/english/research/projects/traces-of-history
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Warner, Anthony
References to text editions
All of my Old English examples can be found in the Dictionary of Old English http://tapor.library.utoronto.ca.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/doecorpus/ and, in the interest of space, I have therefore not listed them here. The Middle and Early Modern English ones are as follows.
Kökeritz, Helge