Abstract
Keenan (2002: 2) proposes that syntactic change is subject to Inertia: syntax itself cannot change endogenously. Syntactic change can, however, be caused by changes to PLD arising from phonological, morphological or lexical change or extra-linguistic factors like contact. We explore the idea that there is additionally a syntax-internal cause for syntactic change, which arises when an initial, extra-syntactically induced parameter change creates a system which has a propensity to further parametric change. This may lead to cascades of parameter changes over several centuries, giving rise to a typological shift. We explore this idea by looking at a series of changes which took place in the history of English between 1100 and 1700, which had the net effect of transforming English from a typologically standard West Germanic language into Modern English.
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