Syntactic Reconstruction and Proto-Germanic

This book offers reconstructions of various syntactic properties of Proto-Germanic including verb position in main clauses the syntax of the <em>wh</em>-system and the (non-)occurrence of null pronominal subjects and objects. Although previous studies have looked at the lexical and phonological reconstruction of Proto-Germanic little is currently known about the syntax of the language and it has even been argued that the reconstruction of syntax is impossible. <p/>Dr Walkden uses extensive evidence from the early Germanic languages - Old English Old High German Old Saxon Old Norse and Gothic - to show that syntactic reconstruction is not only possible but also profitable. He argues that while the reconstruction of syntax differs from lexical-phonological reconstruction due to the so-called 'correspondence problem' this is not insurmountable. In fact the approach taken in current Minimalist theories in which syntactic variation is attributed to the properties of lexical items opens the door for syntactic reconstruction as lexical reconstruction. The book also discusses practical solutions for circumventing the correspondence problem in particular the use of both distributional properties of lexical items and the phonological forms of such items in order to establish cognacy. <p/>The book will be of interest to historical linguists working on syntactic reconstruction and the Germanic languages from graduate level upwards as well as to advanced students of syntactic change more generally.<br>