The syntax of Old Romanian, Pană Dindelegan, Gabriela

Abstract

The Syntax of Old Romanian is a timely and important contribution to the field of Romanian historical linguistics, and it is also a valuable resource for comparative Romance linguists. Intended as a complementary continuation of The Grammar of Romanian (Pană Dindelegan 2013), which offers a synchronic account of the present-day language, the volume under review focuses on the period between 1500 and 1780, from the date of the oldest preserved Romanian texts to the final stages of what is generally considered ‘Old Romanian’. The book is written in a way that makes it accessible to a wide range of linguists, largely eschewing the application of specific syntactic frameworks, though in some sections the terminology is notably influenced by generative grammar. In general, however, the reader is presented with a largely traditional grammatical description that, nevertheless, also takes into account aspects such as usage frequency and discourse factors where relevant. While it is explicitly aimed at a ‘non-Romanian readership’, a basic knowledge of modern Romanian is certainly helpful, as the introductory explanation of the linguistic structures analysed can, on occasion, be very brief.