Überlegungen zur Theorie und Methode der historisch-synchronen Valenzsyntax und Valenzlexikographie

The valency-directed study of earlier stages of the German language does not really begin until the publication of Greules "Valenz und historische Grammatik" in 1973. Since then numerous articles and some books have been published on the subject of 'the application of valency theory on older stages of German'. There is, however, no agreement either on a specific theoretical basis or on a specific methodical approach. In addition to that, comprehensive comparisons are impossible, as the valency analyses performed in these studies are usually of an exemplary character. One of the main desiderata is therefore the compilation of further data, the lack of which has so far prevented general statements on verbal valency of an earlier stage of German, let alone on diachronic aspects. Another problem of historical-synchronic research on valency are the numerous theoretical and methodical inadequacies, which do not have their cause in any objective reason (limitations of the corpora, lack of competent speakers, etc.). The reasons for the scepticism frequently expressed regarding historical-synchronic research on valency are probably to be found here. These inadequacies, which are dealt with in detail in the study on hand, result in my view from the absence of two questions: (1) What do researchers in the field of the historical-synchronic study of valency have to achieve? (2) What do they have to avoid methodically at all costs in order to assert their field as a valid area of research?