Main Clause Word Order in Old French

Abstract

In this chapter I offer an account of the word order of main clauses in Old French (OFr), focussing largely, though not exclusively, on verb-second effects. I hope to shed light on some longstanding issues in the analysis of OFr syntax, some of which have implications for later stages of the language as well. The chapter is divided into two main parts. Part I (sections 3.2., 3.3., and 3.4.) is devoted to issues of V2 in general, while Part II introduces an independent property of OFr, the A’ nature of Spec, AgrP, and its interaction with the V2 grammar (sections 3.5 and 3.6.). In sections 3.2. and 3.3. I propose (as in Vance (1988a) but contra Adams (1987a,b), Vance (1993), and Roberts (1993)) that while non-subject initial V2 clauses are CP’s, SVX clauses are IP’s. Arguments are given from both syntax and discourse. In section 3.4. I document evidence that in this otherwise strictly V2 language, the beginnings of a competition between CVS and CSV word order — i.e. the decline of V2 — can be seen in the variable behavior of fronted adverbial clauses. From a diachronic perspective, these first two points taken together make it possible to see in OFr the kind of solidly verb-second but potentially unstable system that has characteristically been attributed to Middle French (cf. Adams (1987a,b), Lemieux and Dupuis (1990, (1995)); however, the full development of a diachronic analysis is reserved for Chapters 6 and 7.KeywordsWord OrderDirect ObjectEmbed ClauseMain ClauseNominative CaseThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.