The syntax and semantics of the temporal anaphor “then” in Old and Middle English

Abstract

The fact that þa/þonne ‘then’ trigger V2 in OE is commonly accounted for by assuming that these adverbs are operators that trigger V-to-C movement. This paper presents an alternative analysis based on the observation that þa/þonne and pronouns are in complementary distribution in preverbal position. We identify this position as SpecTP, arguing that OE was a discourseconfigurational language where SpecTP was linked to the discourse anchoring of anaphoric/deictic expressions, including pronouns and temporal anaphora such as þa/þonne. Under these assumptions, V2 with these temporal adverbs results from a spec-head relationship in TP. The loss of V2 in the ME period is then attributed to the independent development of a (subject-oriented) EPP-feature in TP and the overall loss of discourse-configurationality.

Revisiting the configurationality issue in Old Icelandic

“…( 52) and ( 53 Examples like (55) are in line with observations elsewhere in early Germanic that the prefield frequently hosts constituents which are 'discourse-linking'; more specifically, it has been shown that clause-initial discourse adverbs typically mark a sequence of foregrounded successive actions or events which do not overlap temporally, see e.g. Foster (1975); Enkvist & Wårvik (1987); Wårvik (2011); Trips & Fuß (2009); Los (2012) on Old English, Betten (1987) on Old High German and Klein (1994) on Gothic.…”

“…For instance, it is well-known that word order is information-structurally driven in early Germanic (e.g. Trips & Fuß 2009;Hinterhölzl & Petrova 2009;Bech & Eide 2014) and that, by comparison, position is generally more important at this early stage for marking information structure than in the corresponding modern languages. I return to this issue in Section 6 in relation to Old Icelandic.…”

“…Secondly, more recent work on early Germanic in general has indicated that information structure is a key factor driving word patterns, and certain early Germanic varieties have even been claimed to be discourse-configurational to some extent (e.g. Trips & Fuß 2009 on early English and Petrova & Hinterhölzl 2010 on Old High German). Recent studies of Old Icelandic also indicate that information structure is an important organising principle for word order in the language (e.g.…”

The functions ofweorðanand its loss in the past tense in Old and Middle English

“…show that the logic behind the verb-second system was falling apart after 1300 (at the latest), and that there is evidence for both partial overgeneralization of verb-second in contexts where it was not previously attested, and for a decrease in use and loss of the information-structural relevance of verb-second in contexts where it was previously more robust. Specifically with regard to þa (and þonne ), Fuß & Trips argue that its status as a trigger of verb-second is lost roughly in the period 1340–1475 (Fuß & Trips 2003; Trips & Fuß 2007). In general, careful assessment of the evidence leads to the conclusion that ‘verb-second was all but defunct by 1500’ (Los 2009: 110; see also Warner 2007).…”