英语句法史上V2语序的消失及其原因探析

An Exploration of the Motivation of the Loss of the V2 Word Order in the History of English

早期英语曾经盛行一种V2语序,动词总在句法中的第二位置,其前面可以是介词组、副词、否定词、Wh-词、名词和代词等。这种语序约在公元1400年消失,消失的原因是什么?本文综合学界的各种研究,通过考察语料,认为它的消失与英语史上的形态削弱密切相关,也因为主观性和主观化的发展使然,还由于句法分区形成的去话题化效应。V2语序的消失导致英语走上了一条与邻近语言如德语、法语、丹麦语等语言不同的句法化道路,使英语愈发独特起来。

V2 word order was once prevalent in early English in that the finite verb was always in the second syntactic position and it was preceded by such elements as preposition phrases,adverbs,negation words,wh-words,nouns and pronouns.V2 order was lost in around the year of 1400.What has motivated its loss?Based on the previous studies,this paper suggests that its loss was motivated by the morphological weakening in the history of English,the strengthening of subjectivity and subjectification,and the de-topicalization effect of the formation of syntactic zones.The loss of V2 has made English step onto a grammatication path different from German,French and Danish,and its particularity highlighted.