13. Between copy and cognate: the origin of absolutes in Old and Middle English

Abstract

This paper addresses the absolute construction in Old English (OE), with special focus on its origin. Earlier research on this topic provides two opposite views: either the construction is considered Latin in origin and is treated as a syntactic loan or a lexical loan, or it is regarded as a native, Germanic construction. The goal of this article is to try and find a way to reconcile those earlier explanations while at the same time doing away with their respective shortcomings. As the proposed solution find itself on the border between copy and cognate, it may form an interesting contribution to this particular book even though the main focus is on an entire construction instead of on morphology. The participle structures of any kind abound in Old English, and because the construction handed down from Indo-European through Germanic, as observed from the reconstruction of the Germanic absolute. Keywords:cognate; Germanic construction; Indo-European; Old English (OE); origin; participle