Abstract

Research in Historical Syntax has gained impetus from the 1980s onwards. Especially the mutual semination of theoretically oriented research (e.g. generative grammar) and Historical Linguistics proved to be fruitful. This article aims at outlining the general development of the field of Historical Syntax research and at presenting some recently discussed topics in theoretically informed research on Historical Syntax, choosing German as object language. The topics chosen for the discussion are research on the left periphery, constituent order, the right periphery, the realization of subject pronouns, the syntax of the noun phrase and the syntax of negation. While the research is quite advanced, there is still room for further advancements, e.g. in the synthesis of the (historical synchronic) singular studies to diachronic treatises in the sense that developments are traced throughout the attested language history, or in the consequent inclusion of diatopic variation.