The use of the Present/Past Progressive or as some people call it: Expanded
Form (EF)in English is part of the curriculum in schools and every students either
native speaker of English or a learner of it as a foreign-language must learn this
part of English grammar.
Next to German, where it is sometimes undefined when you do/did a specific task
it is specified in English by the progressive form. If you did something next to
another action happening you have to use the Progressive tense or if you are
doing something at the moment, like the reader of this term paper is reading at the
moment.
The topic of this term paper is the quantifying variation of the progressive tense
during its development from Old English to Modern English. Therefore I will use
works by Nehls, Denison and Strang on that specific field and combine them in
their resources with Visser which is one of the richest sources of older English to
find out if there are differences or one expands.
First, I am going to give a short summary of the work by the three authors.
Second, I will give an overview over the source constructions of the Progressive
Form (I will use the term ‘Expanded Form as well as ‘Progressive’ because the
composers switch between the two terms). In chapter three I will have a closer
look on the Modern use of the Expanded Form in English and in a fourth step I will
combine the old and modern usage of it to find out what was left or included during
the years. In chapter five I will have a closer look on the mini-corpus-studies by
Mossè and Nickel, who dealt with the emergence of the progressive and show
what changed since they started research on this field. And finally, I will draw a
conclusion about the position of the Expanded Form.
[...]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Articles
2. 1.Dietrich Nehls „Synchron-diachrone Untersuchungen zur Expanded Form im Englischen: eine struktural-funktionale Analyse“
2.2. Barabara M. H. Strang “Some aspects of the history of the Be+ing construction”
2.3. David Denison “English historical syntax: verbal constructions”
3. Source Constructions
3.1. The function of the EF in Old English
4. Modern Usage of the Progressive Form
5. Comparison of the old and new usage
6. Mossè and Nickel: sources for the progressive
7. Conclusion
8. Works Cited
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this paper is to analyze the historical development and functional variation of the English progressive, also known as the Expanded Form (EF), tracing its evolution from Old English to Modern English. The study examines how this construction transitioned from an optional stylistic device to a grammatically required aspect of the English language.
- Historical evolution of the Expanded Form (EF) from Old English to the modern period.
- Comparative analysis of scholarly perspectives, including works by Nehls, Denison, Strang, and Visser.
- Functional development and the emergence of the construction as a systematic aspect.
- The influence of literary usage and the role of novelists in the standardization of the Progressive Form.
- Evaluation of source theories concerning Latin influence versus autochthonic Old English development.
Excerpt from the Book
3. Source Constructions
According to Nehls (1974:120) the existent meaning that the Expanded Form is “eine lehnsynstaktische Fügung” from Latin, develops two questions: 1st why is there a strong development of the Expanded Form in English while it is extinct in the other Germanic languages and 2nd why did it become so popular to the people if it was reputed first used only literarily? (Nehls, 1974:121) The Expanded Form appeared also all old-Germanic languages but today neither of them uses it only in English it still exists. To Denison (1993:382) the reason for claiming Latin as the source for the progressive is just the fact that it “was often used in Old English to translate perfect […] deponent verbs in Latin texts. […] Jesperson makes the plausible suggestion, […], that the ‘translator wanted to render a Latin expression consisting of two words […] by means of a similar collocation’” Visser (1973: 1991 § 1854) talks about this thesis as that it “happened strikingly frequently in interlinear versions where the glossator had two spaces to fill up underneath the Latin two-word cluster.” Further more he (1973:1988 §1852) speaks about that the Expanded Form “was used in quite a number of older Indo-European and Semitic languages.” But there is no evidence whether these forms were equivalent to the form in English. It seems rather that it was an “accident construction or collocation of two verbal forms.” (Visser, 1973:1988 §1852).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the scope of the study regarding the development of the progressive form and introduces the primary academic sources used for the analysis.
2. The Articles: Provides a summary and initial assessment of the key linguistic works by Dietrich Nehls, Barbara M. H. Strang, and David Denison.
3. Source Constructions: Investigates the origins of the Expanded Form, contrasting the theory of Latin influence with evidence for an internal, autochthonic development in Old English.
3.1. The function of the EF in Old English: Details how the progressive was utilized in Old English, highlighting its optional nature compared to its current obligatory usage.
4. Modern Usage of the Progressive Form: Discusses the transition through Middle English and the stabilization of the construction into the modern period.
5. Comparison of the old and new usage: Offers a comparative look at specific usage tendencies, showing how grammatical constraints evolved across different periods of English.
6. Mossè and Nickel: sources for the progressive: Critically evaluates the specific monographs by Fernand Mossè and Gerhard Nickel regarding their theories on the emergence of the progressive.
7. Conclusion: Summarizes the complex history of the Expanded Form and emphasizes the ongoing scholarly discussion surrounding its development.
8. Works Cited: Lists the academic literature and primary references consulted during the research process.
Keywords
Expanded Form, Progressive, English historical syntax, Old English, Middle English, Linguistics, Aspect, Tense, Linguistic variation, Language evolution, Grammaticalization, Verbal constructions, Be+ing, Source construction, Diachronic analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper explores the historical development and functional variation of the English progressive tense, also referred to as the Expanded Form.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The study covers the origins of the construction in Old English, its transition through Middle English, its function as a stylistic or grammatical device, and the theories regarding its potential Latinate roots.
What is the main objective of this study?
The goal is to quantify how the usage of the progressive has shifted from an optional, stylistic device to a grammatically required form in modern English.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author uses a comparative literature review, analyzing key linguistic monographs (Nehls, Denison, Strang, Visser) and examining specific corpus examples from Old to Modern English to determine functional shifts.
What does the main part of the paper focus on?
The main part analyzes the "source" theories of the progressive, its function in Old English, and how it was further refined and stabilized in subsequent centuries through literature and syntactic development.
Which keywords characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as Expanded Form, Progressive, diachronic syntax, aspect, and the specific structural evolution of the be+ing construction.
How does the author evaluate the "Latin influence" theory?
The author presents the arguments for Latin influence (e.g., interlinear glossing) but balances them with counter-evidence from the works of Visser and Nickel, suggesting that the construction had deeper native roots.
What role did novelists play in the construction's history?
The author, referencing Strang, notes that novelists were crucial in the eighteenth century, as they increasingly used the progressive for narrative and stylistic effects, which helped solidify its place in the language.
- Quote paper
- Mandy Stein (Author), 2007, Quantifying Variation of the Expanded Form in English, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/119287
