Chomsky’s Third-Factor Principles and Diachronic Syntax in Ælfric’s Old English

초록

This paper investigates diachronic syntactic change from Old English to Present-day English with particular reference to Chomsky’s Third-Factor Principles—general cognitive and computational constraints that shape language development. The discussion centers on Ælfric’s Colloquy and Preface to Genesis, representative prose texts from the late Anglo-Saxon period (c. 993–1020), which provide rich material for both theological and linguistic analysis. Four syntactic domains are examined: word order, reflexivization, impersonal constructions, and the grammaticalization of modal auxiliaries. Viewed through the lens of Third-Factor Principles—particularly Determinacy, Minimal Search, and Feature Economy—these developments are shown to reflect not random drift but the natural outcomes of general cognitive efficiency. The findings underscore the linguistic depth of Ælfric’s writings and their importance for understanding the development of English syntax from Old English through Middle English.

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