Edited by Sylvia M. Adamson, Vivien A. Law, Nigel Vincent and Susan Wright
This volume is a collection of articles based on papers presented at the 5th International Conference on English Historical Linguistics at Cambridge in 1987. It draws together important state-of-the-art' studies in the syntax, phonology, morphology and semantics of Old, Middle and Modern English by… read more
The relatedness of non-finite constructions and evidentiality has been observed in various European languages. Passive matrix verbs plus infinitive in English, the corresponding though less productive pattern in Dutch, reportive passives in Danish, and evidential participial constructions in… read more
All too often particles are treated as diagnostics of other categories and structures which are the real focus of attention. In the present chapter by contrast we investigate the history of one particle, Latin dē, and the structural roles which it has come to have in the Romance languages. We look… read more
Suppletion is a phenomenon which is unique to morphology. It represents extreme non-iconicity in the relation between form and function. Here we deal with what we call proper suppletion, i.e. where one paradigm has resulted from the interaction of two previous paradigms. Our aim is to establish… read more
The focus of this paper is the role of theory for the understanding of linguistic change. We argue that ‘formal’ and ‘functional’ should not be seen as two incompatible ways of viewing linguistic data, but as necessary aspects of any linguistic theory. We consider how theories which are formal, but… read more
