Word Order and Discourse Structure in the Early Modern Period

本研究关注的是早期新高地德语的语序现象，挑战了当前对这一时期德语分句句法的看法：无论是主句和从句的形式区分，还是分句左边缘的形成，都不能反映现代德语的情况。该项目将重点放在15和16世纪的叙述上，将提供充分的经验证据，证明早期新高地德语历史记录中观察到的差异具有系统性，不能归结为语言接触的随机实例或以前生产模式的遗迹。基于一个全面的数据库，它将被认为是不同的维度的话语结构，如给予或重点与背景有很大的影响，从早期新高地德语叙事的语序模式。研究假设得到了语言外部语境的有力支持：根据文学研究，中世纪向近代早期的转变的特点是一种新的讲故事类型的兴起，以小说的形式利用德语的手段。

The present project is concerned with word order phenomena in Early New High German, challenging current views on the clausal syntax in this period of German: Neither the formal distinction between main clauses and subordinate clauses nor the the shaping of the clausal left periphery reflect the Modern German situation. Focussing on narratives from the 15th and 16th century, the project will provide ample empirical evidence that the observed discrepancies in the historical record of Early New High German are of a systematic nature and cannot be reduced either to random instances of language contact or relics of formerly productive patterns. Based on a comprehensive data base, it will be argued that different dimensions of discourse structure such as givenness or focus vs. background have a strong impact on word order patterns in narratives from Early New High German. The research hypothesis is strongly supported by the language external context: According to literary studies, the turn of the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period is characterized by the rise of a new type of storytelling, exploiting the means of the German language in the form of a novel.