Book excerpt: The major focus of this book involves the testing of theories of word order change with data on change in Old English. The data are drawn from such sources as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and from the work of other scholars in Old English and historical linguistics. The book provides support for the ideas of earlier linguists such as Sapir, and will represent a major study for those working in Old English and historical linguistics. Contents: Introduction; Natural Word Order Types and Natural Word Order Change; Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Germanic Word Order Patterns; Order of Major Elements in Main Clauses in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Word Order Patterns in Conjunct, Relative and Subordinate Clauses; Further Studies in Old English Word Order; Conclusions.^R