Subject positions and information-structural diversification in the history of english

The aim of this paper is to integrate Information Structure/IS-related insights of past work on the subject system of Old English with a particular formal account of word-order variation and change in earlier English that did not take IS considerations into account. We offer a first detailed formal...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Biberauer, Theresa, van Kemenade, Ans
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:88139
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/88139
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.5565/rev/catjl.32
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Information structure
Nature of spec
TP
OV/VO word order
Subject positions
Word order
Estructura informativa
Natura d'espec
Ordre de mots OV/VO
Posicions de subjecte
Ordre de mots
Descripción
Sumario:The aim of this paper is to integrate Information Structure/IS-related insights of past work on the subject system of Old English with a particular formal account of word-order variation and change in earlier English that did not take IS considerations into account. We offer a first detailed formal account of how the IS-sensitive Old English subject positions can be understood in the context of an OV system which was becoming increasingly VO, and thereafter outline subject-related developments during Middle English and Early Modern English, leading us to the present day. Against the background of these diachronic developments, our contention is that English has, in one way or another, exhibited IS-sensitive subject positions throughout its history and that, as argued by Kiss (1996), it continues to do so today.