Low German with a Swedish twist - Contact-induced word order transfer in the 15th century

•Low German word order in 15th century letters varies between areas.•In Low German letters from Swedish cities, the word order is influenced by Swedish.•The influence seems to be due to Low German scribes taking Swedish dictation.

This paper deals with differences in word order between two sets of Low German letters from the 15th century: letters sent from Swedish cities and letters sent from other parts of the Hanseatic sphere. In the letters originating from Sweden, the so-called brace construction (whereby the finite and non-finite verbs are separated by a non-subject argument) is, just as in 15th century Swedish, evenly distributed across main and subordinate clauses; in non-Swedish letters, on the other hand, the brace is predominantly a main clause word order. The paper argues that this difference can be explained by the scribal practices of the Swedish chancelleries, involving instantaneous transference from (dictated) Swedish to (written) Low German.