What does the grammatical category tense have to do with orality, and how can this relationship be investigated in historical context? This study explores this question based on a detailed empirical investigation of the Middle High German tense system. Here the textual and functional distribution of the tenses are traced back to a binary structured system depending on two different discourse modes, thus showing an indirect relationship between tense and historical orality.

Autorentext

Sonja Zeman, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.