62
Old English Hwæt
The use of hwæt þa in cases such as (13) and (14) is comparable to the infer-
ential function of so. In a sequential^25 plot development, an event, even if it is
not a direct physical result of the preceding event, usually bears some looser
consequential relation to the preceding event(s). It can be inferred from the pre-
ceding event(s). While þa alone indicates that one event temporally succeeds
another, the expression hwæt þa indicates that one event is either caused by or
implied by a preceding situation or event; to use Blakemore ’s terminology, the
event following hwæt þa is a contextual implication of the preceding situation
or event.^26 This function of hwæt þa to denote an event which is inferred from
what precedes marks a textual relation and serves discourse coherence, since
in this function hwæt þa serves to connect propositions within an extended
discourse and to show how these propositions are related.^27
2.5 Combinations of Hwæt with Interjections
Exclamatory hwæt also occurs in combination with the primary interjections
la (BT: s.v. la , interj., def. I “lo!, oh!, la!”) and eala (BT: s.v. eala , interj., “O!
alas! eheu! euge!”). In the DOEC, there are twenty- seven examples of eala
hwæt found in both prose and verse, and forty- six examples of la hwæt and
thirty examples of hwæt la found only in prose (see Stanley 2000 : 531; Sauer
2008 : 387 for examples).^28 Eala is the most common interjection in Hiltunen ’s
corpus ( 2006 : 96– 102) (see 16); it occurs frequently in conjunction with inter-
active features such as direct discourse, vocatives, and fi rst- and second- person
they use so to provide a reason for initiating an (inter)action or as a means of launching a new
(inter)action, as in
(i) We’ve planned an orthodox ceremony. So if everyone would please take your seats, (2001
AMC [ Corpus of American soap operas (SOAP)])
(ii) That’s not possible. She’s in Maui. I told you. So , are you ready to go fi shing, are you?
(2001 AMC [SOAP])
25 The OED (s.v. so , adv. and conj., def. 11) records the use of so clause initially in “[d] enoting
sequence, freq. without implication of manner, and hence passing into: Then, thereupon, there-
after, subsequently.” But the examples given differ from the cases discussed here.
26 It is not just coincidental, I believe, that the word what occurs in the Present- day English
expression “So what ?,” which is used when “the hearer is unable to see the signifi cance of what
someone has said,” that is, cannot see what something implies or why it is worthwhile to say
(Blakemore 1988a : 189– 190; see also OED: s.v. so , def. 10c).
27 Cichosz (forthc.) presents a number of reasons for not treating hwæt þa as a single unit. She notes
that in cases of initial hwæt , þa may not be adjacent to hwæt but may occur freely elsewhere in
the sentence (the same holds for nu , þonne , and la ); in fact, if the subject is pronominal, it obliga-
torily follows the subject, not hwæt. Thus þa might be better analyzed as an independent clause
element. The lower rates of inversion with hwæt (þa) compared to þa stem from the fact that
certain extra- clausal elements – hwæt but also the interjection efne and coordinating conjunctions
( ond , ac , forþæm ) – are known to reduce the rate of subject– verb inversion following þa.
28 While Walkden ( 2013 : 472) rejects the status of hwæt as an interjection, he accepts that hwæt
la is one.