Namque als Variante von nam?

AbstractThe particle namque is generally regarded as a variant of nam which can be used in its place when preceding a word with an initial vowel. The two particles do indeed have the same function, as described by Kroon (1995, 144): "nam marks discourse units that provide subsidiary information with regard to another, more central discourse unit". And namque is preferred before vowels in poetry. But more important is that namque seems to be more grammaticalized and hence less marked than nam. Unlike nam, in prose namque can appear in another position in the sentence than the first. Moreover, namque is avoided in complicated situations, where the addressee needs a clear signal of subsidiarity. Hence nam is preferred before coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, in praeteritio and occupatio and in interrogative sentences.