Keys to the History of English: Diachronic Linguistic Change, Morpho-syntax and Lexicography. Selected Papers from the 21st Icehl (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 363)

This volume brings together contributions selected from papers delivered at the 21st International Conference on English Historical Linguistics (ICEHL, Leiden 2021). The contributions deal with various aspects of English language across time and geographical space, shedding light on both long-term developments and singular documents of particular linguistic interest. A wide range of methodologies are represented, including corpus linguistics, acoustic phonetics and philology. Chapters showcase work on syntax and word order (parataxis and hypotaxis from Old to Late Modern English; left-dislocation in Old English; do-support in Scots), diachronic linguistic change (phonological developments of lateral /l/ in English; modality in noun clauses from Old to Early Modern English; editorial practices of Middle English punctuation across time) and lexicography and lexis (Old English glosses of the Durham Ritual; Old English lexicographers from 17th-century Germany; lexical differences between Old and Middle English; Yiddish loanwords in English). This volume will be of interest to those working on morphology, syntax and lexicography of English, historical linguistics, language change, history of linguistics, computational historical linguistics and related sub-disciplines. Table of contents Foreword Introduction 1. Introduction 2. Syntax and word order 3. Diachronic linguistic change 4. Lexicography and lexis 5. Conclusion Bibliography Part I Syntax and word order Parataxis and hypotaxis in the history of English 1. Introduction 2. Does finite clausal complementation emerge from juxtaposition? 2.1 That-complementation in English and clause fusion 2.2 That-complementation in English 2.3 That-complementation in English 3. Do subordinate clauses become more frequent over the history of English? 3.1 Frequency of clause types 3.2 Frequency of clause types 3.3 Frequency of clause types 4. Summary and conclusion Acknowledgments References Two types of left-dislocation in Old English 1. Introduction 2. Methodology and the data 3. Discussion 3.1 Property A 3.2 Property B 3.3 Property C 4. Conclusions Acknowledgments References Subject-verb agreement and the rise of do-support in the period of anglicisation of Scots 1. Introduction 2. Background 2.1 The origin and anglicisation of Scots 2.2 Do-support 2.3 The Northern Subject Rule 2.4 The NSR and do-support in Scots 3. Hypothesis 4. Methodology 4.1 Corpus 4.2 Retrieving results 4.3 Retrieving results 5. Results 5.1 The NSR in the PCSC 5.2 Do-support in the PCSC 6. Discussion and conclusion Acknowledgments References Part II Diachronic linguistic change A modern light on diachronic processes affecting coda /l/ in English 1. Introduction 2. Laterals 3. Historical and PDE changes affecting coda laterals 3.1 Diphthong formation 3.2 Lengthening of pre-lateral vowels 3.3 Vocalisation and loss of coda lateral 3.4 Summary 4. Explaining the developments of coda laterals 4.1 Diphthong formation 4.2 Lengthening of pre-lateral vowels 4.3 Vocalisation and loss of coda laterals 5. Conclusion Acknowledgements References Modality and the English subjunctive in noun clauses 1. Introduction 2. Data and research method3 3. Diachronic analysis of subjunctive use 3.1 The non-fact vs fact model of modality 3.2 The root vs. epistemic model of modality 3.3 The modality of periphrastic expressions 4. Summary References Some philological implications of punctuation in editions of Middle English texts 1. Introduction1 2. A brief history of punctuation 3. Modernised punctuation 4. Method and materials 5. Results 5.1 Punctuation in use 5.2 Removals, additions, and correspondences 5.3 Correspondences in translation 5.4 Sentence-external marks 6. Conclusions References Part III Lexicography and lexis The unfinished double glosses in Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.iv.19 1. Introduction 1.1 Incomplete Multiple Glosses in Li. and Durham, MS A.iv.19 2. Remedial glosses in Li. 3. Remedial glosses in Durham, MS A.iv.19 4. Vel as caveat lector 5. Vel and the vacant slots 6. Potential alternatives for unfinished glosses 7. Conclusion Funding Acknowledgments References Appendix. Unfinished double glosses in Durham, MS A.iv.19 Early modern manuscripts containing Old English dictionaries in England and northern Germany 1. Introduction 2. Changing research interests from the 16th to the 18th centuries 3. Creating a dictionary of Old English in the early modern period 4. Lindenbrog’s treatment of the contents of J/P 15 and J/P 16 5. The northern German copies 6. Markings in the manuscript dictionaries5 6.1 Re-ordering markers 6.2 Combination and separation markers 6.3 Marginal ‘x’ 6.4 Underlining 6.5 Asterisk 7. Conclusion Acknowledgments References Appendix. Overviews of marked entries in the northern German copies Loss of wiþer-words in English 1. Introduction 2. Aims 3. Data 4. Methodology 5. Old English lexemes 6. Middle English 7. Causes of the loss of wiþer-words 8. Conclusions References Investigating the dynamics of the lexicon 1. Introduction 2. Previous studies on the impact of Yiddish on English 3. Methodology 4. Types of loan influences 5. Subject areas influenced by Yiddish over the centuries 5.1 Discussion of the results 6. Conclusion References Index