The Syntax of Old Norse : With a Survey of the Inflectional Morphology and a Complete Bibliography

This book offers the first account of Old Norse syntax for almost a hundred years and the first ever in a non-Scandinavian language. The language of the Vikings and of the Old Icelandic sagas is the best documented medieval Germanic language and the author is able to present a comprehensive analysis of its syntax and overviews of its phonology and morphology. He supports his analyses with examples taken from Norwegian and Icelandic manuscript editions. Professor Faarlund's approach is descriptive, in a generative framework with a minimum of technical detail. He includes a complete bibliography of Old Norse syntax. The book is intended for advanced students and scholars of historical linguistics, Germanic and Scandinavian languages, Norse philology, and all others with a serious interest in Nordic languages, civilizations, and history. Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 12 Abbreviations and Sources......Page 16 1.1 The language......Page 20 1.3.1 X-bar theory......Page 21 1.3.2 Movement......Page 22 1.3.3 Adjunction......Page 24 2.1 Spelling and pronunciation......Page 26 2.2 Vowels......Page 27 2.3 Consonants......Page 28 2.4.2 Quantity......Page 29 2.5.1 Productive phonological rules......Page 30 2.5.2 Non-productive rules......Page 33 3.1 The case system......Page 35 3.1.1 Syntax and semantics......Page 36 3.1.2 Grammatical features......Page 39 3.1.3 Structural and lexical case......Page 40 3.2 Nouns......Page 42 3.2.1 Strong nouns......Page 43 3.2.2 Weak nouns......Page 50 3.3 Demonstratives and quantifiers......Page 52 3.4 Pronouns......Page 54 3.5 Adjectival declensions......Page 55 3.5.1 The strong adjectival declension......Page 56 3.5.2 The weak adjectival declension......Page 59 3.6 Verb stems......Page 60 3.6.1 Strong verbs......Page 61 3.6.2 Weak verbs......Page 64 3.6.3 Irregular verbs......Page 66 3.7 Verbal inflection......Page 67 3.7.1 The present stem......Page 68 3.7.2 The preterite stems......Page 70 3.7.4 The reflexive verb form......Page 72 4 The Noun Phrase......Page 74 4.1.1 The independent form......Page 75 4.1.2 The cliticized article......Page 76 4.1.3 Use of the definite article......Page 77 4.2 Genitive phrases......Page 78 4.3.1 Adjectives and participles......Page 86 4.3.2 Quantifiers......Page 92 4.3.3 sjalfr......Page 94 4.3.4 Modifying nouns......Page 96 4.4 Complements and adjuncts......Page 97 4.4.2 Nominal clauses......Page 98 5.1 Demonstratives......Page 100 5.1.1 Noun-phrase complements......Page 101 5.1.2 Clausal complements......Page 105 5.2 Personal pronouns......Page 106 5.2.1 Pronouns followed by NP......Page 108 5.2.2 sjalfr......Page 109 5.3 Interrogative pronouns......Page 110 6 The Adjective Phrase......Page 113 6.1 Modifiers......Page 114 6.2.1 Noun phrases......Page 117 6.2.2 Prepositional phrases......Page 120 6.2.3 Clauses......Page 121 6.3 Comparative constructions......Page 122 7.1.2 Secondary prepositions......Page 126 7.1.3 Intransitive prepositions......Page 127 7.2 Modifiers......Page 128 7.3 Complements......Page 129 7.3.1 Prepositions governing the accusative or the dative......Page 130 7.3.2 Prepositions governing the dative only......Page 134 7.3.3 Prepositions governing the genitive......Page 135 7.3.5 Prepositions governing PPs......Page 136 7.3.6 Deletion of complement......Page 138 8.1 Finite and non-finite verb forms......Page 140 8.2.1 Anaphor......Page 142 8.2.2 Medio-passive......Page 145 8.3 Auxiliary verbs......Page 146 8.3.1 Modal auxiliaries......Page 147 8.3.2 hafa......Page 149 8.3.3 vera and verða......Page 150 8.3.4 heita......Page 157 8.4.1 Nominals......Page 158 8.4.2 Prepositional phrases......Page 166 8.4.3 Predicate complements......Page 168 8.4.4 Accusative with infinitive......Page 170 8.4.5 Clauses......Page 175 8.4.6 Head–complement order......Page 179 8.4.7 Deletion of complement......Page 185 8.5.1 Noun phrases......Page 187 8.5.2 Prepositional phrases......Page 193 8.5.3 Adverbs and adjectives......Page 199 8.5.4 Clauses......Page 203 8.5.5 Predicate adjuncts......Page 204 9.1 The finite verb......Page 208 9.1.1 Tense and mood......Page 209 9.1.2 Position of the finite verb......Page 210 9.2 Subject properties......Page 213 9.2.1 Position of the subject......Page 214 9.2.2 Semantic and pragmatic properties......Page 217 9.2.3 Subject–verb agreement......Page 219 9.3 Derivation of subjects......Page 222 9.3.2 Raising......Page 223 9.3.3 Internal argument......Page 229 9.3.4 Passive......Page 230 9.3.5 Gerunds......Page 234 9.4 Subjectless sentences......Page 235 9.4.1 No external argument......Page 236 9.4.2 Unexpressed external argument......Page 239 9.5 Clausal subjects......Page 242 9.6 Sentence types......Page 243 9.6.1 Negation......Page 244 9.6.2 Interrogative......Page 245 9.6.3 Imperative......Page 247 9.7 Word order......Page 248 9.7.1 Topicalization......Page 250 9.7.2 Stylistic fronting......Page 255 9.7.3 Left adjunction......Page 257 9.7.4 Right adjunction......Page 258 10.1.1 Tense and mood......Page 263 10.1.2 Word order......Page 269 10.1.3 Nominal clauses......Page 272 10.1.4 Relative clauses......Page 278 10.1.5 Adverbial clauses......Page 288 10.2.1 Structure......Page 290 10.2.2 The complementizer......Page 291 10.2.3 Preposing......Page 293 10.2.4 Control......Page 294 10.2.5 Agreement......Page 296 10.2.6 Raising......Page 297 11.1 Bound by subject......Page 299 11.2 Bound by dative phrase......Page 301 11.4 Distributives......Page 302 Bibliography of Old Norse Syntax......Page 304 D......Page 314 N......Page 315 R......Page 316 X......Page 317 L......Page 318 Y......Page 319 Contents 6 Preface 12 Abbreviations and Sources 16 1 Introduction 20 1.1 The language 20 1.2 The sources 21 1.3 Descriptive framework 21 1.3.1 X-bar theory 21 1.3.2 Movement 22 1.3.3 Adjunction 24 2 Phonology 26 2.1 Spelling and pronunciation 26 2.2 Vowels 27 2.3 Consonants 28 2.4 Prosody 29 2.4.1 Stress 29 2.4.2 Quantity 29 2.5 Morphophonology 30 2.5.1 Productive phonological rules 30 2.5.2 Non-productive rules 33 3 Inflectional Morphology 35 3.1 The case system 35 3.1.1 Syntax and semantics 36 3.1.2 Grammatical features 39 3.1.3 Structural and lexical case 40 3.2 Nouns 42 3.2.1 Strong nouns 43 3.2.2 Weak nouns 50 3.3 Demonstratives and quantifiers 52 3.4 Pronouns 54 3.5 Adjectival declensions 55 3.5.1 The strong adjectival declension 56 3.5.2 The weak adjectival declension 59 3.6 Verb stems 60 3.6.1 Strong verbs 61 3.6.2 Weak verbs 64 3.6.3 Irregular verbs 66 3.7 Verbal inflection 67 3.7.1 The present stem 68 3.7.2 The preterite stems 70 3.7.3 The perfect stem 72 3.7.4 The reflexive verb form 72 4 The Noun Phrase 74 4.1 The definite article 75 4.1.1 The independent form 75 4.1.2 The cliticized article 76 4.1.3 Use of the definite article 77 4.2 Genitive phrases 78 4.3 Modifiers 86 4.3.1 Adjectives and participles 86 4.3.2 Quantifiers 92 4.3.3 sjalfr 94 4.3.4 Modifying nouns 96 4.3.5 Relative clauses 97 4.4 Complements and adjuncts 97 4.4.1 Prepositional phrases 98 4.4.2 Nominal clauses 98 5 Determiner Phrases 100 5.1 Demonstratives 100 5.1.1 Noun-phrase complements 101 5.1.2 Clausal complements 105 5.2 Personal pronouns 106 5.2.1 Pronouns followed by NP 108 5.2.2 sjalfr 109 5.2.3 Other modifiers 110 5.3 Interrogative pronouns 110 6 The Adjective Phrase 113 6.1 Modifiers 114 6.2 Complements 117 6.2.1 Noun phrases 117 6.2.2 Prepositional phrases 120 6.2.3 Clauses 121 6.3 Comparative constructions 122 7 The Prepositional Phrase 126 7.1 Types of preposition 126 7.1.1 Primary prepositions 126 7.1.2 Secondary prepositions 126 7.1.3 Intransitive prepositions 127 7.1.4 Complex prepositions 128 7.2 Modifiers 128 7.3 Complements 129 7.3.1 Prepositions governing the accusative or the dative 130 7.3.2 Prepositions governing the dative only 134 7.3.3 Prepositions governing the genitive 135 7.3.4 Clausal complements 136 7.3.5 Prepositions governing PPs 136 7.3.6 Deletion of complement 138 8 The Verb Phrase 140 8.1 Finite and non-finite verb forms 140 8.2 The reflexive verb 142 8.2.1 Anaphor 142 8.2.2 Medio-passive 145 8.3 Auxiliary verbs 146 8.3.1 Modal auxiliaries 147 8.3.2 hafa 149 8.3.3 vera and verða 150 8.3.4 heita 157 8.4 Complements of lexical verbs 158 8.4.1 Nominals 158 8.4.2 Prepositional phrases 166 8.4.3 Predicate complements 168 8.4.4 Accusative with infinitive 170 8.4.5 Clauses 175 8.4.6 Head–complement order 179 8.4.7 Deletion of complement 185 8.5 Adjuncts 187 8.5.1 Noun phrases 187 8.5.2 Prepositional phrases 193 8.5.3 Adverbs and adjectives 199 8.5.4 Clauses 203 8.5.5 Predicate adjuncts 204 9 The Finite Sentence 208 9.1 The finite verb 208 9.1.1 Tense and mood 209 9.1.2 Position of the finite verb 210 9.2 Subject properties 213 9.2.1 Position of the subject 214 9.2.2 Semantic and pragmatic properties 217 9.2.3 Subject–verb agreement 219 9.3 Derivation of subjects 222 9.3.1 External argument 223 9.3.2 Raising 223 9.3.3 Internal argument 229 9.3.4 Passive 230 9.3.5 Gerunds 234 9.4 Subjectless sentences 235 9.4.1 No external argument 236 9.4.2 Unexpressed external argument 239 9.5 Clausal subjects 242 9.6 Sentence types 243 9.6.1 Negation 244 9.6.2 Interrogative 245 9.6.3 Imperative 247 9.7 Word order 248 9.7.1 Topicalization 250 9.7.2 Stylistic fronting 255 9.7.3 Left adjunction 257 9.7.4 Right adjunction 258 10 Subordinate Clauses 263 10.1 Finite clauses 263 10.1.1 Tense and mood 263 10.1.2 Word order 269 10.1.3 Nominal clauses 272 10.1.4 Relative clauses 278 10.1.5 Adverbial clauses 288 10.2 Non-finite clauses 290 10.2.1 Structure 290 10.2.2 The complementizer 291 10.2.3 Preposing 293 10.2.4 Control 294 10.2.5 Agreement 296 10.2.6 Raising 297 11 Reflexive Binding 299 11.1 Bound by subject 299 11.2 Bound by dative phrase 301 11.3 Bound by accusative phrase 302 11.4 Distributives 302 Bibliography of Old Norse Syntax 304 Subject Index 314 A 314 B 314 C 314 D 314 E 315 F 315 G 315 H 315 I 315 K 315 L 315 M 315 N 315 O 316 P 316 Q 316 R 316 S 317 T 317 U 317 V 317 W 317 X 317 Word Index 318 A 318 B 318 D 318 E 318 F 318 G 318 H 318 I 318 J 318 K 318 L 318 M 319 N 319 O 319 P 319 S 319 T 319 U 319 V 319 Y 319 This is the first account of Old Norse syntax for almost a hundred years and the first ever in a non-Scandinavian language. The language of the Vikings and of the Old Icelandic sagas is the best documented medieval Germanic language: the author presents a full analysis of its syntax and overviews of its phonology and morphology. He includes a complete bibliography of Old Norse syntax. - ;This book offers the first account of Old Norse syntax for almost a hundred years and the first ever in a non-Scandinavian language. The language of the Vikings and of the Old Icelandic sagas is the best docum "This is the first account of Old Norse for a hundred years and the first ever in a non-Scandinavian language. It presents a full analysis of Old Norse syntax and succinct descriptions of its phonology and morphology." "This book will interest students and scholars of Nordic languages, civilizations, and history, as well as those studying historical linguistics, diachronic syntax, and Germanic and Scandinavian languages."--Jacket