Clause Type Asymmetries in Old English and the Syntax of Verb Movement

Abstract Old English exhibits main clause/subordinate clause word order asymmetries comparable to those found in modern West Germanic languages such as Dutch or German. Finite verbs generally occur near the beginning of a main clause whereas they tend to occur towards the end of subordinate clauses. Furthermore (in contrast to modern West Germanic), it has been observed that conjoined main clauses often have subordinate clause word order in Old English. This chapter addresses the question of how these clause type asymmetries can be accounted for. Section 16.2 presents the main word order properties of Old English and some quantitative data concerning the distribution of finite verbs in different types of clauses. Section 16.3 presents recent proposals for the structural analysis of the Old English word order patterns, and discusses some problems for the treatment of subordinate clauses. Section 16.4 presents a solution to these problems; the remainder of the chapter explores some consequences of this approach with respect to the analysis of conjoined clauses and the development of verb movement in the history of English.