From zijt to bent '(you) are' in Early Modern Dutch: a view "from below" approach ...

Dutch exhibits suppletion in the verb ZIJN 'be' with b-roots and s-roots merged into a single paradigm (Donaldson, 1983, p. 182). By the end of the Middle Dutch period (late 16th century), second person singular s-root form zijt and b-root form bent were in competition. Donaldson (1983, p. 182) suggests that the change was motivated by a parallel with the first person singular (present) form ben. However, this account lacks an empirical basis. With the use of the Brieven als Buit (‘Letters as Loot’) corpus, my investigation attempts to address this gap by adopting a “history from below” approa... Mehr ...