Montserrat Batllori, Maria-Lluïsa Hernanz, Carme Picallo, and Francesc Roca (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199272129
- eISBN:
- 9780191709821
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199272129.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
In this book the methods and theories of formal syntax are focussed on grammatical variation and change. The book opens with a detailed introduction to the ideas and techniques deployed in the book ...
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In this book the methods and theories of formal syntax are focussed on grammatical variation and change. The book opens with a detailed introduction to the ideas and techniques deployed in the book and the phenomena and issues on which they are brought to bear. Seventeen chapters follow, divided into two parts, the first part concerned with grammaticalization and the second part with parametric variation. These show what the application of contemporary theories of syntax and language variation can reveal about syntactic change and variation and the processes of parametric change which lie behind them. The chapters also demonstrate the value of testing and constructing synchronic theories on the basis of historical data. The analyses range over many languages and language families, including Germanic, Romance, Greek, and Chinese.Less
In this book the methods and theories of formal syntax are focussed on grammatical variation and change. The book opens with a detailed introduction to the ideas and techniques deployed in the book and the phenomena and issues on which they are brought to bear. Seventeen chapters follow, divided into two parts, the first part concerned with grammaticalization and the second part with parametric variation. These show what the application of contemporary theories of syntax and language variation can reveal about syntactic change and variation and the processes of parametric change which lie behind them. The chapters also demonstrate the value of testing and constructing synchronic theories on the basis of historical data. The analyses range over many languages and language families, including Germanic, Romance, Greek, and Chinese.
Jeff Good (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199298495
- eISBN:
- 9780191711442
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199298495.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This book looks at the relationship between linguistic universals and language change. Reflecting the resurgence of work in both fields over the last two decades, it addresses two related issues of ...
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This book looks at the relationship between linguistic universals and language change. Reflecting the resurgence of work in both fields over the last two decades, it addresses two related issues of central importance in linguistics: the balance between synchronic and diachronic factors in accounting for universals of linguistic structure, and the means of distinguishing genuine aspects of a universal human cognitive capacity for language from regularities that may be traced to extraneous origins. The book brings together specially commissioned work by leading scholars, including prominent representatives of generative and functional linguistics. It examines rival explanations for linguistic universals and assesses the effectiveness of competing models of language change. The book investigates patterns and processes of grammatical and lexical change across a wide range of languages; it considers the degree to which common characteristics condition processes of change in related languages; and examines how far differences in linguistic outcomes may be explained by cultural or external factors.Less
This book looks at the relationship between linguistic universals and language change. Reflecting the resurgence of work in both fields over the last two decades, it addresses two related issues of central importance in linguistics: the balance between synchronic and diachronic factors in accounting for universals of linguistic structure, and the means of distinguishing genuine aspects of a universal human cognitive capacity for language from regularities that may be traced to extraneous origins. The book brings together specially commissioned work by leading scholars, including prominent representatives of generative and functional linguistics. It examines rival explanations for linguistic universals and assesses the effectiveness of competing models of language change. The book investigates patterns and processes of grammatical and lexical change across a wide range of languages; it considers the degree to which common characteristics condition processes of change in related languages; and examines how far differences in linguistic outcomes may be explained by cultural or external factors.
Meisel Jurgen M., Elsig Martin, and Rinke Esther
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780748642250
- eISBN:
- 9780748695157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748642250.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, English Language
Grammatical change has been claimed to happen in the course of transmission of grammatical knowledge from one generation to the next. The locus of change is thus the language learning child, and ...
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Grammatical change has been claimed to happen in the course of transmission of grammatical knowledge from one generation to the next. The locus of change is thus the language learning child, and change is the result of grammatical reanalysis, i.e. when children fail to reconstruct the grammar of the previous generation in at least one point. Yet this should never affect core properties of grammars (paradox of grammatical change), for both the primary linguistic data (PLD) and the acquisition mechanisms are hypothesized to be constrained by UG. In fact, children acquiring a first languages (L1) typically attain full competence, thus attesting the robustness of the LAD. The question then is whether there exist conditions under which the LAD might fail. It has been argued that decreasing frequency of occurrence of a grammatical property, structural ambiguity of a construction, or the presence of more than one grammatical system in the linguistic environment of the learner (language contact) are possible causes of transmission failure. In this chapter, it is argued that neither of them is a sufficient cause of transmission failure in L1 development. Rather, change is only likely to happen if the triggering cues are contained in the PLD; cf. chapters 5, 6.Less
Grammatical change has been claimed to happen in the course of transmission of grammatical knowledge from one generation to the next. The locus of change is thus the language learning child, and change is the result of grammatical reanalysis, i.e. when children fail to reconstruct the grammar of the previous generation in at least one point. Yet this should never affect core properties of grammars (paradox of grammatical change), for both the primary linguistic data (PLD) and the acquisition mechanisms are hypothesized to be constrained by UG. In fact, children acquiring a first languages (L1) typically attain full competence, thus attesting the robustness of the LAD. The question then is whether there exist conditions under which the LAD might fail. It has been argued that decreasing frequency of occurrence of a grammatical property, structural ambiguity of a construction, or the presence of more than one grammatical system in the linguistic environment of the learner (language contact) are possible causes of transmission failure. In this chapter, it is argued that neither of them is a sufficient cause of transmission failure in L1 development. Rather, change is only likely to happen if the triggering cues are contained in the PLD; cf. chapters 5, 6.
Dianne Jonas, John Whitman, and Andrew Garrett (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199582624
- eISBN:
- 9780191731068
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199582624.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This book advances research on grammatical change and shows the breadth and liveliness of the field. Leading international scholars report and reflect on the latest research into the nature and ...
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This book advances research on grammatical change and shows the breadth and liveliness of the field. Leading international scholars report and reflect on the latest research into the nature and outcomes of all aspects of syntactic change including grammaticalization, variation, complementation, syntactic movement, determiner-phrase syntax, pronominal systems, case systems, negation, and alignment. The chapters deploy a variety of generative frameworks, including minimalist and optimality theoretic, and bring these to bear on a wide range of languages: among the latter are typologically distinct examples from Germanic, Romance, Slavic, Greek, Korean and Japanese, Austronesian, Celtic, and Nahuatl. They draw on sociolinguistic evidence where appropriate. Taken as a whole, the volume provides a stimulating overview of key current issues in the investigation of the origins, nature, and outcome of syntactic change.Less
This book advances research on grammatical change and shows the breadth and liveliness of the field. Leading international scholars report and reflect on the latest research into the nature and outcomes of all aspects of syntactic change including grammaticalization, variation, complementation, syntactic movement, determiner-phrase syntax, pronominal systems, case systems, negation, and alignment. The chapters deploy a variety of generative frameworks, including minimalist and optimality theoretic, and bring these to bear on a wide range of languages: among the latter are typologically distinct examples from Germanic, Romance, Slavic, Greek, Korean and Japanese, Austronesian, Celtic, and Nahuatl. They draw on sociolinguistic evidence where appropriate. Taken as a whole, the volume provides a stimulating overview of key current issues in the investigation of the origins, nature, and outcome of syntactic change.
Sandra Clarke and Andrew Erskine
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748626168
- eISBN:
- 9780748671519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748626168.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Especially since the mid 20th century, Newfoundland English has experienced considerable change, much of which appears to involve weakening or even loss of local speech features, and greater ...
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Especially since the mid 20th century, Newfoundland English has experienced considerable change, much of which appears to involve weakening or even loss of local speech features, and greater alignment with supralocal (typically, North American) norms. This chapter begins by contextualising language change relative to (largely negative) insider and outsider attitudes to Newfoundland dialects. Using illustrative examples, the chapter documents the social and stylistic patterns associated with ongoing phonetic and grammatical change. Despite fairly rapid intergenerational decline in the use of some local features, others are shown to be more robust: they display obvious style shifting, in that they tend to be avoided by younger speakers in formal, though not in casual, speech styles. Rapid change is also in evidence at the levels of vocabulary and discourse. Loss of traditional lexicon is countered by the borrowing of lexical innovations from outside the province, along with such “trendy” discourse features as quotative be like, and the prosodic features of creaky voice and high rising intonation in statements.Less
Especially since the mid 20th century, Newfoundland English has experienced considerable change, much of which appears to involve weakening or even loss of local speech features, and greater alignment with supralocal (typically, North American) norms. This chapter begins by contextualising language change relative to (largely negative) insider and outsider attitudes to Newfoundland dialects. Using illustrative examples, the chapter documents the social and stylistic patterns associated with ongoing phonetic and grammatical change. Despite fairly rapid intergenerational decline in the use of some local features, others are shown to be more robust: they display obvious style shifting, in that they tend to be avoided by younger speakers in formal, though not in casual, speech styles. Rapid change is also in evidence at the levels of vocabulary and discourse. Loss of traditional lexicon is countered by the borrowing of lexical innovations from outside the province, along with such “trendy” discourse features as quotative be like, and the prosodic features of creaky voice and high rising intonation in statements.
David Willis
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199582624
- eISBN:
- 9780191731068
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199582624.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter gives a minimalist analysis of the development of clausal negation in Welsh. It attests the familiar Jespersen's Cycle with negation: The Modern Welsh negative marker ddim descends from ...
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This chapter gives a minimalist analysis of the development of clausal negation in Welsh. It attests the familiar Jespersen's Cycle with negation: The Modern Welsh negative marker ddim descends from the Middle Welsh noun dim ‘thing’, which co-occurred as a minimizer with the original negative particle ny(t) before eventually replacing it. The chapter takes on the important question of the apparent gradualness of these developments, always a challenge to acquisition-based accounts of grammatical change. It argues that the ‘cycle’ in fact decomposes into a series of stages, with the crucial stages being those where some children reanalyze dim as an adverb, then as a polarity adverb, and finally as the bearer of the uninterpretable [Neg] feature in the clause. The switch in the locus of this feature brings a distinctively minimalist flavour to the analysis of an important diachronic pattern.Less
This chapter gives a minimalist analysis of the development of clausal negation in Welsh. It attests the familiar Jespersen's Cycle with negation: The Modern Welsh negative marker ddim descends from the Middle Welsh noun dim ‘thing’, which co-occurred as a minimizer with the original negative particle ny(t) before eventually replacing it. The chapter takes on the important question of the apparent gradualness of these developments, always a challenge to acquisition-based accounts of grammatical change. It argues that the ‘cycle’ in fact decomposes into a series of stages, with the crucial stages being those where some children reanalyze dim as an adverb, then as a polarity adverb, and finally as the bearer of the uninterpretable [Neg] feature in the clause. The switch in the locus of this feature brings a distinctively minimalist flavour to the analysis of an important diachronic pattern.
Adam Ledgeway
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199584376
- eISBN:
- 9780191741463
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584376.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
This book examines the grammatical changes that took place in the transition from Latin to the Romance languages. The emerging language underwent changes in three fundamental areas involving the noun ...
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This book examines the grammatical changes that took place in the transition from Latin to the Romance languages. The emerging language underwent changes in three fundamental areas involving the noun phrase, verb phrase, and the sentence. The impact of the changes can be seen in the reduction of the Latin case system; the appearance of auxiliary verb structures to mark such categories as tense, mood, and voice; and a shift towards greater rigidification of word order. The book considers how far these changes are interrelated and compares their various manifestations and pace of change across the different standard and non-standard varieties of Romance. It describes the historical background to the emergence of the Romance varieties and their Latin ancestry, considering in detail the richly documented diachronic variation exhibited by the Romance family. The book reviews the accounts and explanations that have been proposed within competing theoretical frameworks, and considers how far traditional ideas should be reinterpreted in light of recent theoretical developments. This account shows that the transition from Latin to Romance is not only of great intrinsic interest, but both provides a means of challenging linguistic orthodoxies and presents opportunities to shape new perspectives on language change, structure, and variation.Less
This book examines the grammatical changes that took place in the transition from Latin to the Romance languages. The emerging language underwent changes in three fundamental areas involving the noun phrase, verb phrase, and the sentence. The impact of the changes can be seen in the reduction of the Latin case system; the appearance of auxiliary verb structures to mark such categories as tense, mood, and voice; and a shift towards greater rigidification of word order. The book considers how far these changes are interrelated and compares their various manifestations and pace of change across the different standard and non-standard varieties of Romance. It describes the historical background to the emergence of the Romance varieties and their Latin ancestry, considering in detail the richly documented diachronic variation exhibited by the Romance family. The book reviews the accounts and explanations that have been proposed within competing theoretical frameworks, and considers how far traditional ideas should be reinterpreted in light of recent theoretical developments. This account shows that the transition from Latin to Romance is not only of great intrinsic interest, but both provides a means of challenging linguistic orthodoxies and presents opportunities to shape new perspectives on language change, structure, and variation.
Sam Wolfe and Martin Maiden
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- August 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198840176
- eISBN:
- 9780191875724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198840176.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The introduction to the volume lays out its conceptual, theoretical and empirical background. It highlights how grammatical change has been a major area of interest within French linguistics, but ...
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The introduction to the volume lays out its conceptual, theoretical and empirical background. It highlights how grammatical change has been a major area of interest within French linguistics, but that standard French is too often the exclusive empirical focus, while insights from comparative Gallo-Romance data tend to be lacking. Sociolinguistic theory has traditionally formed a modest part of linguistic research on both historical and contemporary French, but the introduction highlights a renewed interest in variationist sociolinguistics, issues of language contact, and the status of minority languages with France. The introduction concludes with an overview of Smith’s contribution to linguistics and summaries of the chapters that together form the volume.Less
The introduction to the volume lays out its conceptual, theoretical and empirical background. It highlights how grammatical change has been a major area of interest within French linguistics, but that standard French is too often the exclusive empirical focus, while insights from comparative Gallo-Romance data tend to be lacking. Sociolinguistic theory has traditionally formed a modest part of linguistic research on both historical and contemporary French, but the introduction highlights a renewed interest in variationist sociolinguistics, issues of language contact, and the status of minority languages with France. The introduction concludes with an overview of Smith’s contribution to linguistics and summaries of the chapters that together form the volume.
John Bowers
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262014311
- eISBN:
- 9780262289252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014311.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter considers languages that exhibit so-called grammatical function changing morphology, and how they can be taken into account in very simple and direct fashion in the proposed approach ...
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This chapter considers languages that exhibit so-called grammatical function changing morphology, and how they can be taken into account in very simple and direct fashion in the proposed approach without assuming either special rules that change the function of noun phrases or extensive processes of syntactic incorporation. It first examines applicative constructions of the sort proposed by Baker (1988) by means of Preposition Incorporation before extending the proposed theory to a wider range of data. The chapter then looks at another general property of applicativization processes known as Marantz’s Generalization, which states that applicative objects behave syntactically like direct objects. It also discusses symmetrical vs. asymmetrical languages, the phenomenon of Possessor Raising, antipassive construction, and causativization.Less
This chapter considers languages that exhibit so-called grammatical function changing morphology, and how they can be taken into account in very simple and direct fashion in the proposed approach without assuming either special rules that change the function of noun phrases or extensive processes of syntactic incorporation. It first examines applicative constructions of the sort proposed by Baker (1988) by means of Preposition Incorporation before extending the proposed theory to a wider range of data. The chapter then looks at another general property of applicativization processes known as Marantz’s Generalization, which states that applicative objects behave syntactically like direct objects. It also discusses symmetrical vs. asymmetrical languages, the phenomenon of Possessor Raising, antipassive construction, and causativization.
Charlotte Galves, Sonia Cyrino, Ruth Lopes, Filomena Sandalo, and Juanito Avelar (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199659203
- eISBN:
- 9780191745188
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199659203.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This book focuses on some of the most important issues in historical syntax. In a series of close examinations of languages from old Egyptian to modern Afrikaans, chapters present work on ...
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This book focuses on some of the most important issues in historical syntax. In a series of close examinations of languages from old Egyptian to modern Afrikaans, chapters present work on Afro-Asiatic, Latin and Romance, Germanic, Albanian, Celtic, Indo-Iranian, and Japanese. The book revolves around the linked themes of parametric theory and the dynamics of language change. The former is a key element in the search for explanatory adequacy in historical syntax: if the notion of imperfect learning, for example, explains a large element of grammatical change, it is vital to understand how parameters are set in language acquisition and how they might have been set differently in previous generations. The book tests particular hypotheses against data from different times and places with the aim of understanding the relationship between language variation and the dynamics of change. Is it possible, for example, to reconcile the unidirectionality of change predominantly expressed in the phenomenon of ‘grammaticalization’, with the multidirectionality predicted by generativist approaches?Less
This book focuses on some of the most important issues in historical syntax. In a series of close examinations of languages from old Egyptian to modern Afrikaans, chapters present work on Afro-Asiatic, Latin and Romance, Germanic, Albanian, Celtic, Indo-Iranian, and Japanese. The book revolves around the linked themes of parametric theory and the dynamics of language change. The former is a key element in the search for explanatory adequacy in historical syntax: if the notion of imperfect learning, for example, explains a large element of grammatical change, it is vital to understand how parameters are set in language acquisition and how they might have been set differently in previous generations. The book tests particular hypotheses against data from different times and places with the aim of understanding the relationship between language variation and the dynamics of change. Is it possible, for example, to reconcile the unidirectionality of change predominantly expressed in the phenomenon of ‘grammaticalization’, with the multidirectionality predicted by generativist approaches?
