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In:Walking on the Grammaticalization Path of the Definite Article: Functional Main and Side Roads
Edited by Renata Szczepaniak and Johanna Flick
[Studies in Language Variation 23] 2020
► pp. 199–226

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The rise of the onymic article in Early New High German

Areal factors and the triggering effect of bynames

 | Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Published online: 8 April 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/silv.23.07sch
Abstract
The rise of the definite article in Old High German (750–1050) is well documented, but little is so far known about the emergence of the onymic article, i.e. the definite article in combination with proper names, which represents a later stage in grammaticalization. This paper focuses on early instances of the onymic article and seeks to define the driving factors for the gradual spread of the definite article to proper names on the basis of transcriptions of witch trial records from the late 15th – 17th centuries. The underlying data covers the entire German-speaking area, including present-day Switzerland and Austria and thus allows an investigation of areal variation in article use in late Early New High German (1350–1650). It will be demonstrated that the grammaticalization is most advanced in (East) Upper German. For this core area, some parts of the Municipal Registers of Vienna are taken into account (entries from 14th – early 15th c.) as an additional source. To explain the areal distribution, it is argued that: (1) language-internally, the spread of the newly emerging onymic article is strongly dependent on case (oblique cases) and compensates for the early loss of inflectional case marking on proper names; (2) the rise of the onymic article is triggered by individual bynames; as these can mainly be traced back to common nouns in Upper German (e.g. occupational names). They therefore provide an ideal bridging context in the transition from definite article to onymic article.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Areal variation in the late 15th–17th centuries
    • 2.1Transcripts of witch trials as a database
    • 2.2Distribution of the onymic article
    • 2.3Triggering factors for accelerated grammaticalization in Upper German
  • 3.Early evidence for the onymic article and the role of bynames
    • 3.1Bynames in the Municipal Registers of Vienna (early 15th century)
    • 3.2Early evidence of the onymic article in the Municipal Registers of Vienna (early 15th century)
  • 4.Summary
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Sources
  • References
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