Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199687282
- eISBN:
- 9780191767050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687282.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This chapter investigates the development of the expression of standard negation in historical Low German. Standard negation is taken to mean (one of) the productive means to reverse the truth value ...
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This chapter investigates the development of the expression of standard negation in historical Low German. Standard negation is taken to mean (one of) the productive means to reverse the truth value of a proposition in a language. It is shown that Old Low German uses a preverbal particle ‘ni/ne’ to express standard negation, and that it does not yet have a conventionalized reinforcer of the expression of negation, though there are incipient adverbial uses of the (negative) indefinite ‘(n)iowiht’ ‘any-/nothing’. In Middle Low German, the standard negator is ‘nicht’, while the old preverbal particle ‘ne/en’ is no longer capable of expressing negation on its own and soon disappears from negative clauses in the corpus. The present chapter statistically analyses the language-internal and language-external factors influencing this loss.Less
This chapter investigates the development of the expression of standard negation in historical Low German. Standard negation is taken to mean (one of) the productive means to reverse the truth value of a proposition in a language. It is shown that Old Low German uses a preverbal particle ‘ni/ne’ to express standard negation, and that it does not yet have a conventionalized reinforcer of the expression of negation, though there are incipient adverbial uses of the (negative) indefinite ‘(n)iowiht’ ‘any-/nothing’. In Middle Low German, the standard negator is ‘nicht’, while the old preverbal particle ‘ne/en’ is no longer capable of expressing negation on its own and soon disappears from negative clauses in the corpus. The present chapter statistically analyses the language-internal and language-external factors influencing this loss.
Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199687282
- eISBN:
- 9780191767050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687282.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This chapter studies the patterns of interaction between negation markers and indefinites, and diachronic changes affecting this interaction. The chapter demonstrates that Old Low German in ...
More
This chapter studies the patterns of interaction between negation markers and indefinites, and diachronic changes affecting this interaction. The chapter demonstrates that Old Low German in particular represents a type of interaction that has hardly been noticed so far in the literature, viz. the fact that there can be languages such as Old Low German with a negative head, but without negative concord. Negative concord is shown to only develop during the Old Low German period. It is furthermore argued that ‘negative concord’ (i.e. the multiple expression of negation with single semantic negation) should only refer to standard negators. This implies that Middle Low German had no negative doubling. The present chapter statistically analyses the language-internal and language-external factors influencing (a) the variation in the use of n-marked indefinites in the Heliand and (b) the language-internal and language-external factors influencing the loss of ‘ne/en’ in Middle Low German.Less
This chapter studies the patterns of interaction between negation markers and indefinites, and diachronic changes affecting this interaction. The chapter demonstrates that Old Low German in particular represents a type of interaction that has hardly been noticed so far in the literature, viz. the fact that there can be languages such as Old Low German with a negative head, but without negative concord. Negative concord is shown to only develop during the Old Low German period. It is furthermore argued that ‘negative concord’ (i.e. the multiple expression of negation with single semantic negation) should only refer to standard negators. This implies that Middle Low German had no negative doubling. The present chapter statistically analyses the language-internal and language-external factors influencing (a) the variation in the use of n-marked indefinites in the Heliand and (b) the language-internal and language-external factors influencing the loss of ‘ne/en’ in Middle Low German.
Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199687282
- eISBN:
- 9780191767050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687282.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
In this chapter, the development of the expression of standard sentential negation and of the expression of indefinite quantification in the scope of negation in the history of Low German is analysed ...
More
In this chapter, the development of the expression of standard sentential negation and of the expression of indefinite quantification in the scope of negation in the history of Low German is analysed using the account outlined in chapter 4. The clitic negation particle present at the start of attestation undergoes a lexical split when a new negative marker enters the language: it eventually loses its negation feature in negative clauses once the new marker becomes an unemphatic negator, but becomes a high C-related marker without sentential scope in exceptive clauses. As the new negator only partially matching the features of the n-marked indefinites in Middle Low German, the availability of negative spread, but absence of negative doubling is accounted for. It is shown how formal and functional external motivations restrict the application of the third factor principles, giving rise to the particular time structure of the Low German changes.Less
In this chapter, the development of the expression of standard sentential negation and of the expression of indefinite quantification in the scope of negation in the history of Low German is analysed using the account outlined in chapter 4. The clitic negation particle present at the start of attestation undergoes a lexical split when a new negative marker enters the language: it eventually loses its negation feature in negative clauses once the new marker becomes an unemphatic negator, but becomes a high C-related marker without sentential scope in exceptive clauses. As the new negator only partially matching the features of the n-marked indefinites in Middle Low German, the availability of negative spread, but absence of negative doubling is accounted for. It is shown how formal and functional external motivations restrict the application of the third factor principles, giving rise to the particular time structure of the Low German changes.
Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199687282
- eISBN:
- 9780191767050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687282.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This chapter presents Low German as an instance of a language having undergone Jespersen’s cycle, and summarizes the status quaestionis, identifying the gaps in the previous research. Essentially, ...
More
This chapter presents Low German as an instance of a language having undergone Jespersen’s cycle, and summarizes the status quaestionis, identifying the gaps in the previous research. Essentially, there is no diachronic study yet of the development of negation in historical Low German, looking at both Jespersen’s cycle and diachronic changes in the interaction between negation and indefinites, that spans the entire period of textual attestation from Old Saxon to the end of the Middle Low German period, when written Low German was replaced by High German. Also novel is the systematic study of the diachronic and geographic variation within Middle Low German, based on a corpus of charters and similar dated and localized documents. The chapter furthermore gives background information on historical Low German and the methods used, and it provides an outline of the book.Less
This chapter presents Low German as an instance of a language having undergone Jespersen’s cycle, and summarizes the status quaestionis, identifying the gaps in the previous research. Essentially, there is no diachronic study yet of the development of negation in historical Low German, looking at both Jespersen’s cycle and diachronic changes in the interaction between negation and indefinites, that spans the entire period of textual attestation from Old Saxon to the end of the Middle Low German period, when written Low German was replaced by High German. Also novel is the systematic study of the diachronic and geographic variation within Middle Low German, based on a corpus of charters and similar dated and localized documents. The chapter furthermore gives background information on historical Low German and the methods used, and it provides an outline of the book.
Anne Breitbarth
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199687282
- eISBN:
- 9780191767050
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687282.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
While the development of negation has in recent years gained an increased interest in linguistic research, as witnessed by a large number of new publications, this development has not yet been ...
More
While the development of negation has in recent years gained an increased interest in linguistic research, as witnessed by a large number of new publications, this development has not yet been thoroughly and diachronically studied for historical Low German, as the historical syntax of Low German more generally is only recently coming out of the shadows. The book investigates quantitatively two empirical domains. First, the development of the expression of standard negation, or Jespersen’s Cycle, and second the changing interaction between the expression of negation and indefinites in its scope, giving rise to different types of negative concord along the way. The entire period of attestation from Old Saxon (Old Low German) to the point when Middle Low German is replaced by High German as the written language, after the completion of Jespersen’s Cycle, is taken into consideration. It is shown that the developments in Low German form a missing link between those in High German, English, and Dutch, which are much better researched. The developments are analysed using a generative account of syntactic change combined with minimalist assumptions concerning the syntax of negation and negative concord.Less
While the development of negation has in recent years gained an increased interest in linguistic research, as witnessed by a large number of new publications, this development has not yet been thoroughly and diachronically studied for historical Low German, as the historical syntax of Low German more generally is only recently coming out of the shadows. The book investigates quantitatively two empirical domains. First, the development of the expression of standard negation, or Jespersen’s Cycle, and second the changing interaction between the expression of negation and indefinites in its scope, giving rise to different types of negative concord along the way. The entire period of attestation from Old Saxon (Old Low German) to the point when Middle Low German is replaced by High German as the written language, after the completion of Jespersen’s Cycle, is taken into consideration. It is shown that the developments in Low German form a missing link between those in High German, English, and Dutch, which are much better researched. The developments are analysed using a generative account of syntactic change combined with minimalist assumptions concerning the syntax of negation and negative concord.
Anne Breitbarth and Agnes Jäger
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198813545
- eISBN:
- 9780191851414
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198813545.003.0010
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The expression of sentential negation follows Jespersen’s Cycle in the history of High and Low German, from a verbal clitic neg-particle (stage I) in the earliest stages of attestation via a ...
More
The expression of sentential negation follows Jespersen’s Cycle in the history of High and Low German, from a verbal clitic neg-particle (stage I) in the earliest stages of attestation via a bi-partite expression (stage II) to a free adverbial negator (stage III) in the present-day languages. Besides the expression of negation, also the interaction between sentential negation and indefinites in its scope changes, from the original verbal neg-particle co-occurring with n-free indefinites and the neg-particle co-occurring with neg-marked indefinites (Negative Concord) to neg-marked indefinites without a sentential negator, in the wake of the loss of the old neg-particle. Though these developments are largely similar, they happen at different speeds, and differ in points of detail.Less
The expression of sentential negation follows Jespersen’s Cycle in the history of High and Low German, from a verbal clitic neg-particle (stage I) in the earliest stages of attestation via a bi-partite expression (stage II) to a free adverbial negator (stage III) in the present-day languages. Besides the expression of negation, also the interaction between sentential negation and indefinites in its scope changes, from the original verbal neg-particle co-occurring with n-free indefinites and the neg-particle co-occurring with neg-marked indefinites (Negative Concord) to neg-marked indefinites without a sentential negator, in the wake of the loss of the old neg-particle. Though these developments are largely similar, they happen at different speeds, and differ in points of detail.
Agnes Jäger, Gisella Ferraresi, and Helmut Weiß
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198813545
- eISBN:
- 9780191851414
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198813545.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The introductory chapter provides important background information for the readers of the volume. It describes the aims of the volume, which is the first comprehensive and concise generative ...
More
The introductory chapter provides important background information for the readers of the volume. It describes the aims of the volume, which is the first comprehensive and concise generative historical syntax of German. However, the contributions are not only aimed at researchers in the field, but in giving a basic overview of the respective topics and relating them to more descriptive and traditional accounts, the book is also suited for academic teaching, e.g. as a central text book in courses on historical German syntax. The chapter then gives an overview of the syntax of German, introducing the topological model widely used in more traditional accounts and the generative analysis of German clause structure. Finally, it provides an overview of the history of High and Low German including information on basic grammatical features, the textual evidence and central reference books and digital corpora for each period.Less
The introductory chapter provides important background information for the readers of the volume. It describes the aims of the volume, which is the first comprehensive and concise generative historical syntax of German. However, the contributions are not only aimed at researchers in the field, but in giving a basic overview of the respective topics and relating them to more descriptive and traditional accounts, the book is also suited for academic teaching, e.g. as a central text book in courses on historical German syntax. The chapter then gives an overview of the syntax of German, introducing the topological model widely used in more traditional accounts and the generative analysis of German clause structure. Finally, it provides an overview of the history of High and Low German including information on basic grammatical features, the textual evidence and central reference books and digital corpora for each period.
