The Evolution of Spanish Word Order in «El Cantar de Mio Çid»

Our work has two primary objectives: a) to examine how the transition from SOV to SVO is manifested in El Cantar de Mio Çid (CMC); and b) to explore the reasons that can explain the different word orders found in the text. To test our hypothesis, we structured our study into three parts. Firstly, we conducted a typological description of the CMC by analysing its 3800 verses. Secondly, we applied the chi-square technique to assess whether there is a statistically significant association between the orders of the text and several descriptor variables (verb type, hemistich, weight [number of syllables], context [givenness], and poetic [rhyme]). In the last part of the study, we will discuss the results and present the conclusions. The obtained data indicate that SVO order can be defined as the basic order in CMC. Nevertheless, our data also suggest that other orders (SOV, OVS) can coexist and, in some cases, fluctuate in CMC. This variability can be attributed to typological, pragmatic and informational factors.