The Paradox of Grammatical Change

The Paradox of Grammatical Change

Author: Ulrich Detges

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2008-02-06

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9027291632

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Recent years have seen intense debates between formal (generative) and functional linguists, particularly with respect to the relation between grammar and usage. This debate is directly relevant to diachronic linguistics, where one and the same phenomenon of language change can be explained from various theoretical perspectives. In this, a close look at the divergent and/or convergent evolution of a richly documented language family such as Romance promises to be useful. The basic problem for any approach to language change is what Eugenio Coseriu has termed the paradox of change: if synchronically, languages can be viewed as perfectly running systems, then there is no reason why they should change in the first place. And yet, as everyone knows, languages are changing constantly. In nine case studies, a number of renowned scholars of Romance linguistics address the explanation of grammatical change either within a broadly generative or a functional framework.


Book Synopsis The Paradox of Grammatical Change by : Ulrich Detges

Download or read book The Paradox of Grammatical Change written by Ulrich Detges and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008-02-06 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have seen intense debates between formal (generative) and functional linguists, particularly with respect to the relation between grammar and usage. This debate is directly relevant to diachronic linguistics, where one and the same phenomenon of language change can be explained from various theoretical perspectives. In this, a close look at the divergent and/or convergent evolution of a richly documented language family such as Romance promises to be useful. The basic problem for any approach to language change is what Eugenio Coseriu has termed the paradox of change: if synchronically, languages can be viewed as perfectly running systems, then there is no reason why they should change in the first place. And yet, as everyone knows, languages are changing constantly. In nine case studies, a number of renowned scholars of Romance linguistics address the explanation of grammatical change either within a broadly generative or a functional framework.


The Paradox of Grammatical Change

The Paradox of Grammatical Change

Author: Ulrich Detges

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2008-01-01

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9789027248084

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Recent years have seen intense debates between formal (generative) and functional linguists, particularly with respect to the relation between grammar and usage. This debate is directly relevant to diachronic linguistics, where one and the same phenomenon of language change can be explained from various theoretical perspectives. In this, a close look at the divergent and/or convergent evolution of a richly documented language family such as Romance promises to be useful. The basic problem for any approach to language change is what Eugenio Coseriu has termed the paradox of change: if synchronically, languages can be viewed as perfectly running systems, then there is no reason why they should change in the first place. And yet, as everyone knows, languages are changing constantly. In nine case studies, a number of renowned scholars of Romance linguistics address the explanation of grammatical change either within a broadly generative or a functional framework.


Book Synopsis The Paradox of Grammatical Change by : Ulrich Detges

Download or read book The Paradox of Grammatical Change written by Ulrich Detges and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have seen intense debates between formal (generative) and functional linguists, particularly with respect to the relation between grammar and usage. This debate is directly relevant to diachronic linguistics, where one and the same phenomenon of language change can be explained from various theoretical perspectives. In this, a close look at the divergent and/or convergent evolution of a richly documented language family such as Romance promises to be useful. The basic problem for any approach to language change is what Eugenio Coseriu has termed the paradox of change: if synchronically, languages can be viewed as perfectly running systems, then there is no reason why they should change in the first place. And yet, as everyone knows, languages are changing constantly. In nine case studies, a number of renowned scholars of Romance linguistics address the explanation of grammatical change either within a broadly generative or a functional framework.


Grammatical Change

Grammatical Change

Author: Dianne Jonas

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 0199582629

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This book advances research on grammatical change and shows the breadth and liveliness of the field. International scholars report on the nature and outcomes of all aspects of syntactic change, including grammaticalization, variation, syntactic movement, determiner-phrase syntax, pronominal systems, case systems, negation, and alignment.


Book Synopsis Grammatical Change by : Dianne Jonas

Download or read book Grammatical Change written by Dianne Jonas and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book advances research on grammatical change and shows the breadth and liveliness of the field. International scholars report on the nature and outcomes of all aspects of syntactic change, including grammaticalization, variation, syntactic movement, determiner-phrase syntax, pronominal systems, case systems, negation, and alignment.


Language Acquisition and Change

Language Acquisition and Change

Author: Jurgen M Meisel

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Published: 2013-10-17

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0748677992

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Under which circumstances does grammatical change come about? Is the child the principle agent of change as suggested by historical linguistics?This book discusses diachronic change of languages in terms of restructuring of speakers' internal grammatical knowledge. Efforts to construct a theory of diachronic change consistent with findings from psycholinguistics are scarce. Here, these questions are therefore addressed against the background of insights from research on monolingual and bilingual acquisition. Given that children are remarkably successful in reconstructing the grammars of their ambient languages, commonly held views need to be reconsidered according to which language change is primarily triggered by structural ambiguity in the input and in settings of language contact. In an innovative take on this matter, the authors argue that morphosyntactic change in core areas of grammar, especially where parameters of Universal Grammar are concerned, typically happens in settings involving second language acquisition. The children acting as agents of restructuring are either L2 learners themselves or are continuously exposed to the speech of L2 speakers of their target languages. Based on a variety of case studies, this discussion sheds new light on phenomena of change which have occupied historical linguists since the 19th century and will be welcomed by advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in the fields of historical linguistics and language acquisition.


Book Synopsis Language Acquisition and Change by : Jurgen M Meisel

Download or read book Language Acquisition and Change written by Jurgen M Meisel and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-17 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Under which circumstances does grammatical change come about? Is the child the principle agent of change as suggested by historical linguistics?This book discusses diachronic change of languages in terms of restructuring of speakers' internal grammatical knowledge. Efforts to construct a theory of diachronic change consistent with findings from psycholinguistics are scarce. Here, these questions are therefore addressed against the background of insights from research on monolingual and bilingual acquisition. Given that children are remarkably successful in reconstructing the grammars of their ambient languages, commonly held views need to be reconsidered according to which language change is primarily triggered by structural ambiguity in the input and in settings of language contact. In an innovative take on this matter, the authors argue that morphosyntactic change in core areas of grammar, especially where parameters of Universal Grammar are concerned, typically happens in settings involving second language acquisition. The children acting as agents of restructuring are either L2 learners themselves or are continuously exposed to the speech of L2 speakers of their target languages. Based on a variety of case studies, this discussion sheds new light on phenomena of change which have occupied historical linguists since the 19th century and will be welcomed by advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in the fields of historical linguistics and language acquisition.


Quantitative Approaches to Grammar and Grammatical Change

Quantitative Approaches to Grammar and Grammatical Change

Author: Sam Featherston

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2016-07-25

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 3110401924

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The newly-emerging field of theoretically informed but simultaneously empirically based syntax is dynamic but little-represented in the literature. This volume addresses this need. While there has previously been something of a gulf between theoretical linguists in the generative tradition and those linguists who work with quantitative data types, this gap is narrowing. In the light of the empirical revolution in the study of syntax, even people whose primary concern is grammatical theory take note of processing effects and attribute certain effects to them. Correspondingly, workers focusing on the surface evidence can relate more to the concepts of the theoreticians, because the two layers of explanation have been brought into contact. And these workers too must account for the data gathered by the theoreticians. An additional innovation is the generative analysis of historical data – this is now seen as psycholinguistic theory-relevant data like any other. These papers are thus a snapshot of some of the work currently being done in evidence-based grammar, using both experimental and historical data.


Book Synopsis Quantitative Approaches to Grammar and Grammatical Change by : Sam Featherston

Download or read book Quantitative Approaches to Grammar and Grammatical Change written by Sam Featherston and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2016-07-25 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The newly-emerging field of theoretically informed but simultaneously empirically based syntax is dynamic but little-represented in the literature. This volume addresses this need. While there has previously been something of a gulf between theoretical linguists in the generative tradition and those linguists who work with quantitative data types, this gap is narrowing. In the light of the empirical revolution in the study of syntax, even people whose primary concern is grammatical theory take note of processing effects and attribute certain effects to them. Correspondingly, workers focusing on the surface evidence can relate more to the concepts of the theoreticians, because the two layers of explanation have been brought into contact. And these workers too must account for the data gathered by the theoreticians. An additional innovation is the generative analysis of historical data – this is now seen as psycholinguistic theory-relevant data like any other. These papers are thus a snapshot of some of the work currently being done in evidence-based grammar, using both experimental and historical data.


Word-order Change as a Source of Grammaticalisation

Word-order Change as a Source of Grammaticalisation

Author: Susann Fischer

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9027255407

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followed by the loss of morphology. --Book Jacket.


Book Synopsis Word-order Change as a Source of Grammaticalisation by : Susann Fischer

Download or read book Word-order Change as a Source of Grammaticalisation written by Susann Fischer and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: followed by the loss of morphology. --Book Jacket.


Grammaticalization and Language Change

Grammaticalization and Language Change

Author: Kristin Davidse

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 9027205973

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This collective volume focuses on the latest developments in the study of grammaticalization and related processes of change such as degrammaticalization, constructionalization, lexicalization, and petrification. It addresses topical issues relating to the motivations, sources, defining features, and outcomes of these changes. New theoretical reflections are offered on the pragmatic motivation of grammaticalization paths, process-oriented differences between grammaticalization, lexicalization and degrammaticalization, the question of gradualness and pace of grammaticalization, and deictics as a distinct source of grammaticalization. The articles describe various constructional and distributional changes affecting deictics, determiners, reflexives, clitics, nouns, affixes, adverbs and (auxiliary) verbs, mainly in the Germanic and Romance languages. The volume will be of great interest to historical linguists working on grammaticalization and related changes, and to all linguists working on the interface between morphosyntax, semantics, pragmatics and discourse.


Book Synopsis Grammaticalization and Language Change by : Kristin Davidse

Download or read book Grammaticalization and Language Change written by Kristin Davidse and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collective volume focuses on the latest developments in the study of grammaticalization and related processes of change such as degrammaticalization, constructionalization, lexicalization, and petrification. It addresses topical issues relating to the motivations, sources, defining features, and outcomes of these changes. New theoretical reflections are offered on the pragmatic motivation of grammaticalization paths, process-oriented differences between grammaticalization, lexicalization and degrammaticalization, the question of gradualness and pace of grammaticalization, and deictics as a distinct source of grammaticalization. The articles describe various constructional and distributional changes affecting deictics, determiners, reflexives, clitics, nouns, affixes, adverbs and (auxiliary) verbs, mainly in the Germanic and Romance languages. The volume will be of great interest to historical linguists working on grammaticalization and related changes, and to all linguists working on the interface between morphosyntax, semantics, pragmatics and discourse.


Grammatical Change in English World-wide

Grammatical Change in English World-wide

Author: Peter Collins

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789027203755

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The contributions to this volume apply and extend the techniques of corpus linguistics and diachronic linguistics to the challenge of describing and explaining grammatical change in varieties of English world-wide. The book is divided into two parts, with ten chapters on 'Inner Circle' varieties such as Australian, Canadian, and Irish English, and eight on 'Outer Circle' varieties such as Philippine, Indian, and Nigerian English. Contributors examine a range of topics including the progressive aspect, modal auxiliaries, do-support, verb morphology, and quotatives, using a wide variety of corpus resources. Overarching research questions addressed include the following: Do diachronic tendencies observed in a particular variety converge with, diverge from, or run in parallel with, those in the parent variety? What are the possible causes of changes observed (e.g. English teaching traditions, Americanisation, internal changes in registers)? This book will appeal to linguists, particularly those interested in grammatical description, corpus linguistics and World Englishes.


Book Synopsis Grammatical Change in English World-wide by : Peter Collins

Download or read book Grammatical Change in English World-wide written by Peter Collins and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributions to this volume apply and extend the techniques of corpus linguistics and diachronic linguistics to the challenge of describing and explaining grammatical change in varieties of English world-wide. The book is divided into two parts, with ten chapters on 'Inner Circle' varieties such as Australian, Canadian, and Irish English, and eight on 'Outer Circle' varieties such as Philippine, Indian, and Nigerian English. Contributors examine a range of topics including the progressive aspect, modal auxiliaries, do-support, verb morphology, and quotatives, using a wide variety of corpus resources. Overarching research questions addressed include the following: Do diachronic tendencies observed in a particular variety converge with, diverge from, or run in parallel with, those in the parent variety? What are the possible causes of changes observed (e.g. English teaching traditions, Americanisation, internal changes in registers)? This book will appeal to linguists, particularly those interested in grammatical description, corpus linguistics and World Englishes.


Grammatical Change in Indo-European Languages

Grammatical Change in Indo-European Languages

Author: Vít Bubeník

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 9027248214

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The product of a group of scholars who have been working on new directions in Historical Linguistics, this book is focused on questions of grammatical change, and the central issue of grammaticalization in Indo-European languages. Several studies examine particular problems in specific languages, but often with implications for the IE phylum as a whole. Given the historical scope of the data (over a period of four millennia) long range grammatical changes such as the development of gender differences, strategies of definiteness, the prepositional phrase, or of the syntax of the verbal diathesis and aspect, are also treated. The shifting relevance of morphology to syntax, and syntax to morphology, a central motif of this research, has provoked lively debate in the discipline of Historical Linguistics.


Book Synopsis Grammatical Change in Indo-European Languages by : Vít Bubeník

Download or read book Grammatical Change in Indo-European Languages written by Vít Bubeník and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The product of a group of scholars who have been working on new directions in Historical Linguistics, this book is focused on questions of grammatical change, and the central issue of grammaticalization in Indo-European languages. Several studies examine particular problems in specific languages, but often with implications for the IE phylum as a whole. Given the historical scope of the data (over a period of four millennia) long range grammatical changes such as the development of gender differences, strategies of definiteness, the prepositional phrase, or of the syntax of the verbal diathesis and aspect, are also treated. The shifting relevance of morphology to syntax, and syntax to morphology, a central motif of this research, has provoked lively debate in the discipline of Historical Linguistics.


Rethinking Parameters

Rethinking Parameters

Author: Luis Eguren

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-01-15

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 0190461756

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Parameters of linguistic variation were originally conceived, within the chomskyan Principles and Parameters Theory, as UG-determined options that were associated with grammatical principles and had a rich deductive structure. This characterization of parametric differences among languages has changed significantly over the years, especially so with the advent of Minimalism. This book collects a representative sample of current generative research on the status, origin and size of parameters. Often taking diverging views, the papers in the volume address some or all of the main debated topics in parametric syntax: i.e. are parameters provided by UG, or do they constitute emergent properties arising from points of underspecification?; in which component(s) of the language faculty are parameters to be found?; do clustering effects actually hold across languages?; do macroparameters exist alongside microparameters?; are there parameter hierarchies?; which is the origin and role of parameters in the process of language acquisition? The volume is organized into two parts. Part I ("The nature of variation and parameters") brings together studies whose main goal is to discuss general issues related to parameters (or variation more generally). Part II ("Parameters in the analysis of language variation: case studies") includes a number of works that deal with the empirical basis and proper formulation of well-known particular parameters: the Null Subject Parameter, the NP/DP Parameter, the Compounding Parameter, the Wh-Parameter and the Analyticity Parameter.


Book Synopsis Rethinking Parameters by : Luis Eguren

Download or read book Rethinking Parameters written by Luis Eguren and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-15 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parameters of linguistic variation were originally conceived, within the chomskyan Principles and Parameters Theory, as UG-determined options that were associated with grammatical principles and had a rich deductive structure. This characterization of parametric differences among languages has changed significantly over the years, especially so with the advent of Minimalism. This book collects a representative sample of current generative research on the status, origin and size of parameters. Often taking diverging views, the papers in the volume address some or all of the main debated topics in parametric syntax: i.e. are parameters provided by UG, or do they constitute emergent properties arising from points of underspecification?; in which component(s) of the language faculty are parameters to be found?; do clustering effects actually hold across languages?; do macroparameters exist alongside microparameters?; are there parameter hierarchies?; which is the origin and role of parameters in the process of language acquisition? The volume is organized into two parts. Part I ("The nature of variation and parameters") brings together studies whose main goal is to discuss general issues related to parameters (or variation more generally). Part II ("Parameters in the analysis of language variation: case studies") includes a number of works that deal with the empirical basis and proper formulation of well-known particular parameters: the Null Subject Parameter, the NP/DP Parameter, the Compounding Parameter, the Wh-Parameter and the Analyticity Parameter.