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The Syntax of Prenominal and Postnominal Adjectives in Old English
Author: Agnieszka Pysz
Date Of Publication: Dec 2009
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-1398-3
Isbn: 1-4438-1398-2
This book is the first monograph which provides a comprehensive discussion of the syntactic behaviour of Old English (OE) adnominal adjectives. Drawing on the empirical data retrieved from the York-Toronto-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English Prose (Taylor, Warner, Pintzuk & Beths 2003), the author proposes an analysis of OE adjectives by means of a theoretical apparatus couched in the framework of Chomsky’s generative grammar. The analysis incorporates the following properties of OE adjectives:

• their inflectional patterning, i.e. whether adjectives take “weak” and “strong” inflectional endings

• the so-called "adjective stacking", i.e. whether adjectives can occur in uninterrupted strings

• the surface placement with respect to their complements

• the surface placement with respect to the nominal head

The author observes that the differences between prenominal and postnominal adjectives go far beyond the superficial difference in their surface placement. She argues therefore that the two types of adjectives require two different theoretical treatments.

The volume consists of five chapters. It is supplemented by four appendices and an extensive bibliography.

Agnieszka Pysz received PhD in English linguistics (2007) from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. In 2009 she took the position of førsteamanuensis i engelsk språk at the University College in Volda, Norway. Her research interests focus on the morpho-syntax of Germanic languages.

"Agnieszka Pysz presents a very competent study of the adjectival syntax in Old English within the generative framework. In her book she uses the minimalist model to successfully explain the structure of the Old English noun phrase in the cross-linguistic perspective. The book is an important and valuable contribution to the diachronic studies of early mediaeval English."

—Rafał Molencki, Professor of English at University of Silesia

"The work makes an original contribution to the research in the area of English historical syntax. One of its major strengths lies in combining the traditional (descriptive) approaches to diachronic phenomena with the recent advances in formal (generative) syntax. Pysz skillfully straddles the border between the two realms and provides the reader with an insightful perspective on the nature of adjectives in the Old English period."

— Jacek Witkos, Ph.D., School of English, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland

Price Uk Gbp: 44.99
Price Us Usd: 67.99

Sample pdf (including Table of Contents)

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