Sophie Whittle

My PhD research focuses on the decline of verb-second (V2) structure in the history of English, and aims to explain its change through an analysis of (morpho)syntax, language contact, language acquisition, and information structure. I am conducting a parsed corpus-based study to collect frequencies of V2 throughout the Old, Middle, and Early Modern English periods, and I am analysing data with a mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) approach. More broadly, I am also interested in linking language change to the imperfect acquisition of L1 and L2 learners, and how the errors and innovations they make can drive change.