LANGUAGE VARIATION AND CHANGE IN ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL EUROPE: Old & Middle English - Old High German - Old Norse - Old Romance - Ancient Greek

Svetlana Petrova 

(Bergische Universität Wuppertal)

Course description:

This is an introduction to the study of word order variation and clause 
structure in the history of German. We will survey the main properties 
of modern German as an asymmetric OV/verb second (V2) language and will 
go back to the historical stages of German, seeking to explain the 
question of how these properties emerged. The main focus will be on 
clause structure and word order variation in Old High German (OHG). We 
will look into the challenges that we face when we try to study the 
syntax of Old High German, and we will go into the methods of discerning 
datasets that are conclusive for analysis.

Class schedule (preliminary):

-properties of modern German syntax: OV/V2, topolocial field model, 
phrase structure, methods and diagnostics

-periods of German, brief characteristics of OHG, including the 
properties of the attestation, a reading exercise, dictionaries, 
reference books, corpora

-OV/VO and word order in dependent clauses

-main clauses: V2 and variation in the left periphery

-(time given): free word order phenomena, dislocation to the left, and 
embedded V2

Learning outcomes:

-gaining a general knowledge of the basic properties of German syntax 
and its development

-learning to apply the methods and diagnostics for analysing Germanic 
OV/VO as well as V2 to novel data

-being able to apply the knowledge gained from the analysis of OHG to 
other (modern and medieval) Germanic languages and their dialects.

ECLASS: free.openeclass.org/courses/ENG227