The Analysis of Inversion

Abstract

The discussion and analysis in this initial chapter will be purely synchronic in nature. Our goal here is to develop and motivate an analytic framework in terms of which we can discuss the synchronic and diachronic phenomena of verb-placement throughout the rest of the book. This analytic framework consists of an interlocking set of assumptions about how different grammatical systems determine verb-placement. Most of these assumptions are taken from the recent theoretical literature, although we also propose certain modifications of our own. Since our purpose is just to set up a framework for discussion and analysis, the proposals we will make in this chapter are of course subject to subsequent modification.