Negative Contraction, Dialect, and the AB Language: A Note on Levin 1958

Abstract

Contemporary discussions of preverbal negative incorporation usually note Levin's 1958 claim that incorporation is a Western and Southern dialect feature in Old and Middle English. In his Middle English data, Levin reports only two unincorporated forms, both in AB texts. This note demonstrates that these two examples appear in the editions Levin used, but not in the manuscripts now thought to be closer to the original AB language. The conclusions are: 1. Levin's claim still has merit; 2. it would worthwhile to revisit his data with an improved understanding of scribal practices, access to facsimiles, and to electronic searches; and 3. researchers should consider editorial “interference” in manuscripts.I would like to thank Elly van Gelderen, Richard Hogg, and Dhira Mahoney for their helpful comments and suggestions. All remaining errors are my own.