Syntaktische Variablen im Althochdeutschen. Einige grundsätzliche Überlegungen zur Syntax des Althochdeutschen

Abstract

German Studies on the syntax of Old High German usually focus on those sentences that contain the element in question in a positive sense. Studies on the function of the verbal prefix gi-, for example, are based on sentences containing a corresponding verbal form. Studies on the emergence and gradual grammaticalization of the definite article are generally based on sentences containing forms of ther, thiu, thaz (etc.). In contrast, this paper attempts to contrast (1) sentences that contain positive evidence for the use of the verbal prefix gi-, (2) the definite article in meaning-equivalent sentences that lack the prefix or the article, (3) pronominal subject. This comparative method can reveal variables existing in Old High German. What appears to be lawful or regular when only positive evidence is considered, may prove to be an only possibility when negative evidence is analyzed, but not a necessity.