On the Position of Infl in Old English

Abstract

In this paper, we attempt to determine the underlying word order of Old English (OE) including the position of INFL. We will show that Early OE and Late OE are SOVI (S-VP-I) and SIOV (S-I-VP) languages, respectively, pointing out a striking difference in the distribution of stressless pronouns between them. On the basis of the underlying word order change in the history of English, we will propose a principle regulating word order change, which we call here the Principle of Parameter Percolation (PPP).* * This paper is a slightly revised version of a paper read at the Seventh General Meeting of the Modern English Association held at Shujitsu Women's University on May 18, 1990. We are grateful to Satoshi Ohta and two anonymous EL reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. Thanks also go to Roger Martin for suggesting stylistic improvements. All remaining errors, needless to say, are ours.