Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang

60 Kristin Bech
anaphoric reference to the subclause, not the preceding main clause. In these
clauses as well, it is common to find a verb with complement. In coordinate clauses,
on the other hand, it is quite rare to find initial þa or þonne, but what we see in
coordinate XVS clauses with a verb with complement is that the initial element
is often a pronominal object, 9 which means that in these clauses, there is, at the
beginning of the clause, direct reference to the previous clause, in accordance with
the function of coordinate clauses. (11) is an example:
(11) [ic sende eow swurd to] and eow sleað eowre fynd
[I send you sword to] and you (O) slay your enemies (S)
“[I will send the sword to you] and your enemies will slay you” (ÆLS 294: 170)
Pronominal objects are, however, rare in the X position of XVS clauses, compared
to þa and þonne. 10 Thus, we may say that in OE, XVS word order is to a great
extent used for narrative-advancing purposes, and this entails non-coordination
and a high proportion of verbs with complement. XVS word order in coordinate
clauses does not have this function; therefore the proportion of verbs with complement
is lower, whereas there is a higher proportion of other verb types, e.g., existential
verbs (cf. 3.1).
Early ME is different from OE in the way that the proportion of verbs with
complement in the XVS word order pattern is the same in non-coordinate clauses
and coordinate clauses. This, I believe, has to do with the fact that in this period,
the type of clause that took XVS order had begun to change. In general, the proportion
of initial þa/þenne/þanne in this word order pattern is much lower in early
ME than in OE; in early ME only a quarter (21 out of 79, i.e., 26.6%) of the XVS
non-coordinate clauses with a verb with complement have this element initially,
as opposed to 70.8% (184 out of 260) in OE. In addition to þa/þenne/þanne, we
now typically find other short adverbials such as nu “now”, for ði “therefore”, or giet
“yet” in initial position. Adverbial prepositional phrases and clauses also occur,
and unmarked, non-topicalized objects, of the type illustrated in the OE example
in (11), are still possible in initial position.
It is possible that there is a change in narrative style between OE and ME, to the
effect that the þa/þonne constructions become less used. In any case, the typical OE
function of XVS word order of signaling sequence – perhaps we may call it a style
associated with OE – is in early ME much less pronounced. With a change in the
narrative style, and thus a change in the function of the XVS word order, there is
no longer a particular reason why there should be a larger proportion of verbs with
9. Out of 25 Old English XVS coordinate clauses with a verb with complement, 13 (52%) have
an object in the X position. Only four have initial þa or þonne.
10. Out of altogether 680 OE XVS clauses (non-coordinate and coordinate combined), 350
(51.5%) have initial þa/þonne, and 41 (6.0%) have an initial pronominal object.