'Whilom, As Olde Stories Tellen Us' : The Discourse Marker Whilom in Middle English

Author / Editor
Brinton, Laurel J.

Title
'Whilom, As Olde Stories Tellen Us' : The Discourse Marker Whilom in Middle English

Published
A. E. Christa Canitz and Gernot R. Wieland, eds. From Arabye to Engelond: Medieval Studies in Honour of Mahmoud Manzalaoui on His 75th Birthday (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1999), pp. 175-99.

Description
Documents the development of whilom from its origins as an Old English adverb, to a discourse marker associated with orality, to an adjective. Although this development does not challenge the "unidirectionality hypothesis of grammaticalization," it indicates that grammaticalization is sometimes reversible. Draws examples from Chaucer.

Alternative Title
From Arabye to Engelond: Medieval Studies in Honour of Mahmoud Manzalaoui on His 75th Birthday.

Chaucer Subjects
Language and Word Studies.