Verbstellung im Althochdeutschen

This study analyzes the various positions of the finite verb in Old High German texts in comparison to the Modern German word order regularities. The approach is based on a positional fields model proposed in Wollstein-Leisten u. a. (1997) and Dittmer / Dittmer (1998). In Modern German declarative sentences the finite verb position is restricted to the second field (linke Klammer), whereas in Old High German verb first and verb last declaratives were possible, too. The syntactic changes in German word order are described in connection to the developments in the sentence mood system.