MAIRWEN · Mapping Argument Structure in Early Irish and Welsh

The proposed project involves a critical examination of the concept of subject and subject properties in Old Irish and Old and Middle Welsh. The project has three objectives: 1) to determine subject properties in Old Irish and Old and Middle Welsh, 2) to investigate the applicability of subject tests proposed in the literature for the early Indo-European languages, modern Indo-European languages, and, specifically, Modern Irish and Modern Welsh to Old Irish and Old and Middle Welsh, and 3) to develop subject tests specifically for Old Irish and Old and Middle Welsh. The approach is rooted in the methodology and theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics and construction grammar, as well as in comparative and philological methodologies. Applying the tools of cognitive linguistics and construction grammar to Early Irish and Welsh, while remaining faithful to the comparative and philological framework, allows for the generation of the relevant knowledge of the grammar of Early Irish and Welsh that is needed to decipher and model subject behaviour in these languages. Working at Aberystwyth University will enable me to improve and deepen my skills and competencies in Early Welsh, Modern Welsh and Modern Irish. Expanding my current work, which has been focussed Medieval Irish, both laterally into medieval Welsh and vertically into the modern languages will significantly improve and increase my career opportunities. By the end of this project, I will have at least four articles and a monograph submitted for publication, demonstrating my capacity to carry out high-quality, independent research in Early Welsh as well as in Early Irish and theoretical linguistics, in addition to being able to speak and teach both Modern Irish and Modern Welsh at an advanced level, providing me with a strong chance to obtain a permanent academic position in Celtic linguistics.