Abstract This volume traces the development of English phonology and morphology from Proto-Germanic to Old English of about the year 900 and describes Old English syntax in a modern framework from a historical perspective. An introduction describing the linguistic state of early Old English in general terms is followed by two chapters detailing the changes that can be shown to have occurred from Proto-Germanic to Proto-Northwest Germanic and from the latter to Proto-West Germanic. The fourth chapter is a grammatical sketch of Proto-West Germanic. There follows a chapter on developments that occurred in the northern part of the West Germanic speech area. Chapter 6 describes the phonological changes that occurred in the separate development of Old English, with special attention to the recoverable relative chronology of the changes; Chapter 7 does the same for morphological changes. Finally, Chapter 8 is a comprehensive description of Old English syntax in a modern theoretical framework, with notes on changes that occurred during the attested Old English period and on what little can be recovered of the syntactic prehistory of the language. The discussion throughout is technical; it is meant to be accessible especially to linguists who do not specialize in Old English nor in historical linguistics, but it will also be of use to students who already have some background in linguistics.
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