Reading time: quite a while Having dedicated over four years of my life to the subject, I have one or two thoughts about the word order of Proto-Indo-European. Somebody somewhere had to have them. This reconstructed language – the ‘lost’ common ancestor proposed to explain the countless similarities across the Indo-European languages – has nowadaysContinue reading “PIE was not SOV”
Tag Archives: Syntax
New Article: ‘Wackernagel’s Law in Vedic and Old Irish’
By a happy twist of fate, January 2025, just like January 2024, has allowed me to announce a new academic publication! This time, it’s Wackernagel’s Law in Vedic and Old Irish, a paper co-authored with my brilliant colleague and dear friend Krishnan Ram-Prasad. The paper has been included among the proceedings for the thirty-fourth annualContinue reading “New Article: ‘Wackernagel’s Law in Vedic and Old Irish’”
Prehistoric Syntax and Public Linguistics with Jackson Crawford
A personal bit of news: a return to rambling enthusiastically on YouTube! I’ve another rare appearance in visual format, as I was delighted to be invited back by Dr Jackson Crawford for a second interview with him and his Patreon supporters. Last time, it was all about etymology; this time, I got to talk veryContinue reading “Prehistoric Syntax and Public Linguistics with Jackson Crawford”
New Article: Deriving the Old Irish Clause
Some personal news from me: My first peer-reviewed academic article has now been published with the Journal of Historical Syntax! After almost a year of work by me, three reviewers and the editors of JHS, Deriving the Old Irish Clause now exists out there to be read and hopefully enjoyed. It can be found hereContinue reading “New Article: Deriving the Old Irish Clause“
Is This [Is] An English Question?
Reading time: 10 minutes For this November’s post, I’d like to shine a syntactic spotlight on an unusual feature of English word order. While you might not know it from my online offerings, I am first and foremost a syntactician: words are fascinating, but it’s how we arrange them together that interests me most. TheContinue reading “Is This [Is] An English Question?”
(Hopefully) Halfway to Doctorhood
Reading time: 15-20 minutes Passing a milestone on a long journey, be it a metaphorical or a literal one, is always a moment for reflection. Recently, after fifteen months, I crawled over the finish line of a large part of my PhD project, and promptly ran off to the pub. The morning after, I awokeContinue reading “(Hopefully) Halfway to Doctorhood”
Danny L. Bate 