Theme: syntax in oe contents I. Introduction II. Main body. Structural relations of old english

The Direct Address

Direct address may be represented either by a single word or a phrase: Cedmon, sinʒ me hwæthwuʒu 'Csedmon, sing me something'; ia, leof, ic hit eom 'yes, my dear, it is I'; sunu min, hlyste uunre lare 'my son, listen to my teaching', aris, fæder min 'rise, my father'.

The Parenthesis

Parentheses are not exactly frequent in OE texts, and when ever they do occur, they are usually represented either by adverbs or by phrases of the pattern "preposition + substantive". Here are a few examples: hwæðre pu meant sinʒan 'however, thou canst sing'; næfde he peah ma ponne twentiʒ hryðera 'he had, however, no more than twenty cattle', cf. also næfde se here, ʒodes ponces, Anʒelcyn ealles for swe ʒebrocod 'the (Danish) army had not, thank God, devastated England completely'.