Dative External Possessors in Early English

This volume is the first systematic, corpus-based examination of the development of dative external possessors in Old and Early Middle English. It draws on empirical data and recent developments in linguistic theory to evaluate language-internal and language contact-based explanations for the loss of these constructions in Middle English.

List of contents

• 1: Introduction


• 2: Dative case in Old English: An overview


• 3: Investigating dative external possessors in the history of English


• 4: Body and dative external possessors in Old English


• 5: Early changes in English


• 6: Mind and dative external possessors in Old English


• 7: External possessors in Early Middle English


• 8: Changes and explanations


• 9: Conclusions


• Appendix A: Corpus


• Appendix B: Vocabulary lists


• Appendix C: Notes on searches


• References


• Index

About the author

Cynthia L. Allen is a Fellow Emerita at the Australian National University and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in recognition of her work in the history of English morphosyntax. She is the author of two previous OUP monographs examining the relationship between case marking loss and syntactic changes in English: Case Marking and Reanalysis (1995; paperback 1999) and Genitives in Early English (2008). She is a co-founder and current editorial board member of the de Gruyter Mouton series 'Studies in Language Change' and serves on the editorial board of OUP's 'Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics'.

Summary

This volume is the first systematic, corpus-based examination of the development of dative external possessors in Old and Early Middle English. It draws on empirical data and recent developments in linguistic theory to evaluate language-internal and language contact-based explanations for the loss of these constructions in Middle English.

Product details

• Authors: Cynthia L. Allen, Cynthia L. (Fellow Emerita Allen, Allen Cynthia L.
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.09.2019
• EAN: 9780198832263
• ISBN: 978-0-19-883226-3
• No. of pages: 308
• Series: Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics; Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics; Oxford Studies in Diachronic a
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative linguistics; LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Syntax, Grammar, syntax & morphology, Historical & comparative linguistics, Grammar, syntax and morphology, Historical and comparative linguistics, Middle English