Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang
Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang
Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang
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Verb types and word order 61<br />
complement in <strong>the</strong> non-coordinate group of clauses than in <strong>the</strong> coordinate clause<br />
group in early ME. XVS coordinate clauses still occur with initial pronominal<br />
objects, and in <strong>the</strong> later part of <strong>the</strong> period with <strong>the</strong> adverbial þeruore “<strong>the</strong>refore”.<br />
If we compare Tables 4 and 5, we see that late ME is different <strong>from</strong> early ME.<br />
As regards verbs with complement, <strong>the</strong> proportion remains quite high in <strong>the</strong> coordinate<br />
clause category, but it is lower than ever in <strong>the</strong> non-coordinate clause group.<br />
This correlates with <strong>the</strong> fact that non-coordinate XVS clauses are now to a great<br />
extent existential clauses. Coordinate clauses, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, do not seem to<br />
be existential to <strong>the</strong> same extent as non-coordinate clauses, and <strong>the</strong> reason for this<br />
distribution was discussed in 3.1, in connection with <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>refore constructions.<br />
We may relate <strong>the</strong> proportion of verbs with complement in XVS clauses to <strong>the</strong><br />
occurrences of existential verbs, since <strong>the</strong>y seem to be inversely correlated: in OE<br />
XVS non-coordinate clauses, <strong>the</strong> proportion of verbs with complement is higher than<br />
<strong>the</strong> proportion of existential verbs, whereas <strong>the</strong> situation is <strong>the</strong> inverse in coordinate<br />
clauses. Thus, if we take a step back and look at <strong>the</strong> whole XVS word order picture, assuming<br />
now that <strong>the</strong> data are representative, we see a pattern in which <strong>the</strong> OE period<br />
is marked by <strong>the</strong> þa/þonne style, which is associated with non-coordinate clauses.<br />
Verbs with complement are represented to a greater extent in this clause type than in<br />
coordinate clauses. The proportion of existential verbs in XVS clauses, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
hand, is higher in coordinate clauses, particularly because of <strong>the</strong> features of descriptive<br />
narrative texts. Early ME may be said to be a transition period, whereas <strong>the</strong> late<br />
ME period is <strong>the</strong> opposite of <strong>the</strong> OE period. The great proportion of existential verbs<br />
and <strong>the</strong> low proportion of verbs with complement in <strong>the</strong> non-coordinate XVS pattern<br />
point to a narrowing down of <strong>the</strong> XVS word order option. In coordinate clauses, <strong>the</strong><br />
proportion of existential verbs is lower than in non-coordinate clauses, though still<br />
quite high, but coordinate clauses also have quite a few verbs with complement, due<br />
to <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>refore constructions, which keep XVS order, on <strong>the</strong> pattern of OE.<br />
3.3 Verbs with complement in <strong>the</strong> XSV pattern<br />
In <strong>the</strong> XSV pattern, <strong>the</strong>re seems to be a clear preference for verbs with complement,<br />
both in non-coordinate and coordinate clauses, in all <strong>the</strong> periods. 11 This is<br />
probably because: 1) in earlier stages of English, as in Modern English, <strong>the</strong> most<br />
common initial element was an adverbial, even though OE to a greater extent than<br />
Modern English allowed o<strong>the</strong>r elements in this position, e.g., objects (cf. Bech<br />
2001: 119ff.). Consequently, we would not expect to find many copular verbs in<br />
<strong>the</strong> XSV pattern, since <strong>the</strong> combination of an adverbial and a copula is not very<br />
common; after all, <strong>the</strong> attribution of a quality to a subject does not usually call for<br />
11. It is only in late ME non-coordinate XSV clauses that <strong>the</strong> percentage is under 50, vs. around<br />
60% in OE, but <strong>the</strong> difference between <strong>the</strong> periods is not statistically significant.