Introduction: Analysing English Syntax Past and Present

Abstract

This book is an exploration of categories, constructions, and change in English syntax. A great many books are published on the syntax of English, both monographs and edited volumes, and yet another may seem unnecessary. However, we felt more than justified in adding to the sizeable literature here for two reasons. The first, to borrow from Richard M. Hogg and David Denison'sjustification for A History of the English Language,isthat'one of the beauties of the language is its ability to show continuous change and flexibility whileinsomesenseremainingthesame.And if that is true of the language, it is also true of the study of the language' (2006: xi). Central to our book is a focus on the syntax of the English language, through a wide variety of orientations that a collective work makes possible. Thus the volume aims to embrace the wide variety of approaches and methodologies in the current analysis of English syntactic structure, variation, and change, both past and present, through a careful curation of new case studies by established and emerging scholars in the field. Such breadth of scope, together with a specific focus on English syntax, sets the collection apart from most others. The second reason is that this book is dedicated to