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Old High German Nominal Morphology Revisited: A Fresh Look at Old Paradigms

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Old High German Nominal Morphology Revisited: A Fresh Look at Old Paradigms
Language:	English
Authors:	Luiten, Tyler V.
Source:	ProQuest LLC. 2011Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Availability:	ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Peer Reviewed:	N
Physical Description:	PDF
Page Count:	182
Publication Date:	2011
Document Type:	Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Descriptors:	Language Patterns, Databases, Morphology (Languages), Language Variation, German, Nouns, Computational Linguistics, Morphemes, Linguistic Theory, Diachronic Linguistics
ISBN:	978-1-267-05483-8
Abstract:	This study employs a relational database consisting of thousands of Old High German (OHG) nominal attestations to reconstruct noun class paradigms found primarily in the four OHG texts extensive enough to provide complete nominal paradigms: "Isidor", "Benediktinerregel", "Tatian" and Otfrid von Weissenburg's "Evangelienbuch". This study captures the development of the nominal systems in each of the four specific texts, and considers these systems alongside the remaining OHG corpus. Parallel to this process, this study evaluates, to the extent it relates to OHG, Wolfgang Wurzel's terms "system-defining structural properties" and "system congruity", taken from his discussion of Natural Morphology. In Proto-Germanic, the nominal declension system retained morphological encoding that allowed for identification of noun class, case, and number. By the time of OHG, however, many of these morphological categories had merged or disappeared altogether as a result of the Laws of Finals. The data in this study display the degree to which certain features of the Proto-Germanic nominal system had restructured in OHG so that the distinction between singular and plural was becoming primary, and the marking of formal noun class membership receded, remaining relevant only in the plural endings. The results also illustrate how certain noun classes with identical singular and plural forms had begun to adopt distinct plural marking, supporting Natural Morphology's assertion that language change will proceed in the direction of reducing markedness. This study demonstrates how the use of a database for linguistic study reveals the widespread variation that existed in OHG, and emphasizes the importance of using exhaustive data to evaluate the direction of morphological change. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Abstractor:	As Provided
Entry Date:	2012
Access URL:	https://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3488547
Accession Number:	ED536440
Database:	ERIC

Description
Abstract:	This study employs a relational database consisting of thousands of Old High German (OHG) nominal attestations to reconstruct noun class paradigms found primarily in the four OHG texts extensive enough to provide complete nominal paradigms: "Isidor", "Benediktinerregel", "Tatian" and Otfrid von Weissenburg's "Evangelienbuch". This study captures the development of the nominal systems in each of the four specific texts, and considers these systems alongside the remaining OHG corpus. Parallel to this process, this study evaluates, to the extent it relates to OHG, Wolfgang Wurzel's terms "system-defining structural properties" and "system congruity", taken from his discussion of Natural Morphology. In Proto-Germanic, the nominal declension system retained morphological encoding that allowed for identification of noun class, case, and number. By the time of OHG, however, many of these morphological categories had merged or disappeared altogether as a result of the Laws of Finals. The data in this study display the degree to which certain features of the Proto-Germanic nominal system had restructured in OHG so that the distinction between singular and plural was becoming primary, and the marking of formal noun class membership receded, remaining relevant only in the plural endings. The results also illustrate how certain noun classes with identical singular and plural forms had begun to adopt distinct plural marking, supporting Natural Morphology's assertion that language change will proceed in the direction of reducing markedness. This study demonstrates how the use of a database for linguistic study reveals the widespread variation that existed in OHG, and emphasizes the importance of using exhaustive data to evaluate the direction of morphological change. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ISBN:	978-1-267-05483-8