Syntactic Change in Germanic: Aspects of Language Change in Germanic with Particular Reference to Middle Dutch

300 Pages·1993·23.83 MB·

by  Kate Burridge

SYNTACTIC CHANGE IN GERMANIC
AMSTERDAM STUDIES IN THE THEORY AND
HISTORY OF LINGUISTIC SCIENCE
General Editor
E.F. KONRAD KOERNER
(University of Ottawa)
Series IV - CURRENT ISSUES IN LINGUISTIC THEORY
Advisory Editorial Board
Henning Andersen (Los Angeles); Raimo Anttila (Los Angeles)
Thomas V. Gamkrelidze (Tbilisi); John E. Joseph (College Park, Md.)
Hans-Heinrich Lieb (Berlin); Ernst Pulgram (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
E. Wyn Roberts (Vancouver, B.C.); Danny Steinberg (Tokyo)
Volume 89
Kate Burridge
Syntactic Change in Germanic
SYNTACTIC CHANGE
IN GERMANIC
ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE CHANGE
IN GERMANIC
WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO MIDDLE DUTCH
KATE BURRIDGE
La Trobe University
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY
AMSTERDAM/PHILADELPHIA
1993
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Burridge, Kate.
Syntactic change in Germanic : a study of some aspects of language change in Ger­
manic with particular reference to Middle Dutch / Kate Burridge.
p. cm. — (Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science.
Series IV, Current issues in linguistic theory, ISSN 0304-0763; v. 89)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Dutch language—To 1500—Syntax. I. Title. II. Series.
PF773.B87 1992
430-dc20 92-23195
ISBN 90 272 3589 9 (Eur.)/l-55619-146-4 (US) (alk. paper) CIP
® Copyright 1993 - John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or
any other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. • P.O. Box 75577 • 1070 AN Amsterdam • Netherlands
John Benjamins North America • 821 Bethlehem Pike • Philadelphia, PA 19118 • USA
FOR ROSCOE
PREFACE
This study examines certain features of Dutch syntax between approximately
1300 and 1650. Of central importance are the overall developments in the word
order patterning and the various changes they entail elsewhere in the grammar, such
as in the negative construction. Possible explanations are discussed both in the light
of available theories of change and models of word order and of related research
into Dutch and other Germanic languages.
Chapter 1 provides the goals and background information to the study.
Chapter 2 is concerned with the quantitative analysis of the data. Considerable
attention is also paid to contextual considerations and the pragmatic aspect of word
order. Part of this chapter is also devoted to the difficulty of assigning clause types
at this time.
Chapter 3 deals specifically with the question of exbraciation. Here a number
of linguistic and non-linguistic factors are correlated again the various rates of
exbraciation.
Chapter 4 returns to the functional aspect of word order. A number of
different features of Middle Dutch syntax are examined which all point to the
importance of the notion 'topic' in the language at this time. Decreasing topic-
prominence is then linked with the stabilizing of fixed verb-second order.
Chapter 5 provides a detailed analysis of the development of negation.
Comparative data is examined from related Germanic languages and the whole is
viewed within the wider context of an overalf typological change which has
occurred in these languages. Once again, this is linked with the development of
verb-second order.
Chapter 6 generalizes on the findings here, and seeks to provide an
explanatory account of them. It becomes apparent, however, that there is no one
source of explanation. What we have here is the outcome of an intricate network of
different pressures and demands, all placed at one time on the linguistic system of
Dutch. Part of this chapter also addresses the question of increasing literacy and the
PREFACE vii
impact of the developing literary tradition, with influence from prestigious classical
models, on the Dutch language at this time.
The Appendix has two sections. The first provides a sketch grammar of
Middle Dutch. This is by no means a complete treatment, but contains only what is
essential for the understanding of the sentence examples cited here. The second
section gives a list, together with brief descriptions, of all the texts which make up
the corpus of material used.
I should point out that the findings here are not presented within the
framework of any single approach. Instead the work is purposefully eclectic and
draws upon and integrates the approaches of many different traditions and areas in
Linguistics. This includes typology, descriptive grammar, discourse-pragmatics,
diachronic syntax, grammaticalization, sociolinguistics and generative grammar. It
has also benefited greatly from the invaluable insights of the early writings of
linguists like Jespersen, Sapir, Paul, Behaghel, Hirt and Reis. This has allowed me
to use the most appropriate and insightful approach for a given situation, rather than
follow the restrictive rituals that are necessarily part and parcel of a pre-packaged
framework. This I see is a major strength in such a multifaceted approach as this
one.
Finally, my contribution is a vast descriptive data base for Dutch which
should be able to contribute to theoretical issues in historical linguistics for many
years to come.
This book is actually based upon a PhD thesis which I completed in 1983
under the supervision of Thea Bynon, while I was a research student at the School
of Oriental and African Studies, London. To Thea, I wish to express my sincerest
thanks, not only for her helpful comments and suggestions throughout the writing
of the original work, but also for her constant encouragement and invaluable
guidance during those three years. The early stages of my research were greatly
assisted by the knowledgeable advice of Marinel Gerritsen. I am very grateful for
her interest and assistance, especially in bringing to my attention a wealth of
interesting medieval Dutch texts, which were so invaluable for this and also later
studies. During those times when counting the position of constituents in nearly
9,000 clauses was becoming a trifle tedious, these fascinating medical texts
provided hours and hours of enjoyable reading. I am also indebted to Theo
Hermans, Paul Vincent and Tanis Guest who all gave up their valuable time to
answer my constant stream of questions and who gave me so much help during the
initial stages of my research into Dutch.
Thanks also to Joop van der Horst and David Bennett whose critical
comments and suggestions helped me greatly during the initial writing of this book.
Viii PREFACE
Also I wish to thank my friend Faye Getz whose knowledge of medical history
assisted me through many a difficult translation. To Marion Hermans and Barbara
Upton, who spent so many long hours at the keyboard, I offer a very special thanks
for the magic they worked to transform my initial scribbles into a manuscript which
at least in form is a pleasure to read. Many thanks also to my colleague, Graham
Scott, for his technical assistance and patience. Finally, I am very grateful to an
anonymous reviewer for comments and reactions to the initial manuscript. These
helped me to clarify a number of the issues presented here.
CONTENTS
Preface vi
Chapter 1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. Introduction 1
1.1 What is Meant by Middle Dutch? 2
1.2 A Discussion of the Texts Chosen for Study Here 5
1.3 Justification for Another Study of Middle Dutch Word Order 10
1.4 Methodology 11
1.4.1 The Problem of Sampling 11
1.4.2 The Question of Grammaticality 12
1.4.3 The Classification of Clauses 14
1.4.4 Additional Observations 18
1.4.5 Assigning Clauses to Types 19
Chapter 2 RESULTS
2. Introduction 23
2.1 Main Clauses 24
2.1.1 VSX order 26
2.1.2 SXV order 29
2.1.3 XSVorder 30
2.1.4 Order in Main Clauses Preceded by Subordinate Clauses 38
2.2 Subordinate Clauses 43
2.2.1 The Classification of Clauses —
Grammaticalization of Subordinators 48
2.2.2 The Function of Want 53
2.2.3 Clauses of Manner and Comparison 61
2.2.4 The Formation of Conjunctions 65
2.3 Conjunct Clauses 66
2.3.1 Some Features of Clause Conjunction 70
Chapter 3 EXBRACIATION IN MIDDLE DUTCH
3. Introduction 75
3.1 Method 76
3.2 Grammatical Considerations 81
3.2.1 Clause Type 81
3.2.2 Constituent Type 81
3.3 Lexical Considerations 89
3.3.1 Verbs of Naming 89
3.3.2 Semantics of Adverbial Expressions 91
3.4 Functional Considerations — And the Factor of 'Weight' 94
3.4.1 The Length and Complexity of Constituents 94
3.4.2 The Length of the Clause 101
3.4.3 A Functional Account 105
3.5 Pragmatic Considerations — New versus Old Information 105
3.5.1 Clause Constituents 105