The Diachrony Of Grammar

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The Diachrony of Grammar

T. Givón
The Diachrony of Grammar Book PDF

Author : T. Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 928 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2015-09-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027268884

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The Diachrony of Grammar by T. Givón Pdf

The case-studies assembled in these two volumes span a lifetime of research into the diachrony of grammar. That is, into the rise and fall of syntactic constructions and their attendant grammatical morphology. While focused squarely on the data, the studies are nonetheless cast in an explicit theoretical perspective – adaptive, developmental, variationist. Taken as a whole, this work constitutes a frontal assault on Ferdinand de Saussure's corrosive legacy in linguistics. Over the years, reviewers slapped the author's wrist periodically for having dared to commit that most heinous of sins against de Saussure's hallowed legacy – panchronic grammar. In this work he pleads guilty, having never seen a piece of synchronic data that didn't reek, to high heaven, of the diachrony that gave it rise. Reek in two distinct ways: first with the frozen relics of the past that prompt us to reconstruct prior diachronic states; and second with the synchronic variation that hints at ongoing change. Conversely, the author confesses to having never seen a diachronic explanation that did not hinge on the synchronic principles – Carnap's general propositions – that govern language behavior. The synchrony and diachrony of grammar are twin faces of the same coin. To study one without the other is to gut both. By understanding how synchronic grammars come into being we also understand the cognitive, communicative, neurological and developmental universals that constrain diachronic change – and through it synchronic typology.

Diachronic Construction Grammar

Jóhanna Barðdal,Elena Smirnova,Lotte Sommerer,Spike Gildea
Diachronic Construction Grammar Book PDF

Author : Jóhanna Barðdal,Elena Smirnova,Lotte Sommerer,Spike Gildea
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 263 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2015-07-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027268617

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Diachronic Construction Grammar by Jóhanna Barðdal,Elena Smirnova,Lotte Sommerer,Spike Gildea Pdf

Construction Grammar as a framework offers a new perspective on traditional historical questions in diachronic linguistics and language change: how do new constructions arise, how should competition in diachronic variation be accounted for, how do constructions fall into disuse, and how do constructions change in general, formally and/or semantically, and with what implications for the language system as a whole? This volume offers a broad introduction to the confluence of Construction Grammar and historical syntax, and also detailed case studies of various instances of syntactic change modeled within Construction Grammar. The volume demonstrates that Construction Grammar as a theory is particularly well suited for modeling historical changes in morphosyntax, and it also documents challenging new phenomena that require a theoretical account within any competing framework of syntactic change.

Linguistic Universals and Language Change

Jeff Good
Linguistic Universals and Language Change Book PDF

Author : Jeff Good
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 360 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2008-01-25
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780191538322

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Linguistic Universals and Language Change by Jeff Good Pdf

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 volume 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 authors investigate patterns and processes of grammatical and lexical change across a wide range of languages; they consider the degree to which common characteristics condition processes of change in related languages; and examine how far differences in linguistic outcomes may be explained by cultural or external factors. This book will interest the wide range of scholars in linguistics and related fields concerned with language change, historical linguistics, linguistic typology and universals, and the nature of the human language faculty

Modality and Diachronic Construction Grammar

Martin Hilpert,Bert Cappelle,Ilse Depraetere
Modality and Diachronic Construction Grammar Book PDF

Author : Martin Hilpert,Bert Cappelle,Ilse Depraetere
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 259 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2021-10-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027259004

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Modality and Diachronic Construction Grammar by Martin Hilpert,Bert Cappelle,Ilse Depraetere Pdf

This volume explores how Diachronic Construction Grammar can shed new light on changes in a central and well-researched domain of grammar, namely modality. Its main goal is to show how constructional analyses can help us address some of the long-standing questions that have informed discussions of modal expressions and their development, and to illustrate the processes that are involved in these developments on the basis of data from languages such as English, Finnish, French, Galician, German, and Japanese. The studies in this volume are organized around three interrelated topics. The first of these concerns the organization of modal constructions in a network. A second focus area of the studies in this volume concerns the developmental pathways that modal constructions follow diachronically. The third topic that ties the contributions of this volume together is the contrast between constructionalization and constructional change.

On Understanding Grammar

T. Givón
On Understanding Grammar Book PDF

Author : T. Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 323 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2018-03-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027264718

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On Understanding Grammar by T. Givón Pdf

In his foreword to the original edition of this classic of functionalism, typology and diachrony, Dwight Bolinger wrote: "I foresee it as one of the truly prizes statements of our current knowledge...a book about understanding done with deep understanding – of language and its place in Nature and in the nature of humankind... The book is rich in insights, even for those who have been with linguistics for a long time. And beginners could be thankful for having it as a starting point, from which so many past mistakes have been shed". Thoroughly revised, corrected and updated, On Understanding Grammar remains, as its author intended it in 1979, a book about trying to make sense of human language and of doing linguistics. Language is considered here from multiple perspectives, intersecting with cognition and communication, typology and universals, grammaticalization, development and evolution. Within such a broad cross-disciplinary context, grammar is viewed as an automated, structured language-processing device, assembled through evolution, diachrony and use. Cross-language diversity is not arbitrary, but rather is tightly constrained and adaptively motivated, with the balance between universality and diversity mediated through development, be it evolutionary or diachronic. The book's take on language harkens back to the works of illustrious antecedents such as F. Bopp, W. von Humbold, H. Paul, A. Meillet, O. Jespersen and G. Zipf, offering a coherent alternative to the methodological and theoretical strictures of Saussure, Bloomfield and Chomsky.

Syntactic Complexity

Talmy Givón,Masayoshi Shibatani
Syntactic Complexity Book PDF

Author : Talmy Givón,Masayoshi Shibatani
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 561 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027229991

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Syntactic Complexity by Talmy Givón,Masayoshi Shibatani Pdf

Complex hierarchic syntax is considered one of the hallmarks of human language. The highest level of syntactic complexity, recursive-embedded clauses, has been singled out by some for a special status as the apex of the uniquely-human language faculty – evolutionary but somehow immune to adaptive selection. This volume, coming out of a symposium held at Rice University in March 2008, tackles syntactic complexity from multiple developmental perspectives. We take it for granted that grammar is an adaptive instrument of communication, assembled upon the pre-existing platform of pre-linguistic cognition. Most of the papers in the volume deal with the two grand developmental trends of human language: diachrony, the communal enterprise directly responsible for fashioning synchronic morpho-syntax; and ontogeny, the individual endeavor directly responsible for the acquisition of competent grammatical performance. The genesis of syntactic complexity along these two developmental trends is considered alongside with the cognition and neurology of grammar and of syntactic complexity, and the evolutionary relevance of diachrony, ontogeny and pidginization is argued on general bio-evolutionary grounds. Lastly, several of the contributions to the volume suggest that recursive embedding is not in itself an adaptive target, but rather the by-product of two distinct adaptive gambits: the recruitment of conjoined clauses as modal operators on other clauses and the subsequent condensation of paratactic into syntactic structures.

Ten Lectures on Diachronic Construction Grammar

Martin Hilpert
Ten Lectures on Diachronic Construction Grammar Book PDF

Author : Martin Hilpert
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 291 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2021-09-13
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789004446793

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Ten Lectures on Diachronic Construction Grammar by Martin Hilpert Pdf

In this book, Martin Hilpert lays out how Construction Grammar can be applied to the study of language change. In a series of ten lectures on Diachronic Construction Grammar, the book presents the theoretical foundations, open questions, and methodological approaches that inform the constructional analysis of diachronic processes in language. The lectures address issues such as constructional networks, competition between constructions, shifts in collocational preferences, and differentiation and attraction in constructional change. The book features analyses that utilize modern corpus-linguistic methodologies and that draw on current theoretical discussions in usage-based linguistics. It is relevant for researchers and students in cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, and historical linguistics.

Diachrony of differential argument marking

Ilja A. Seržant,Alena Witzlack-Makarevich
Diachrony of differential argument marking Book PDF

Author : Ilja A. Seržant,Alena Witzlack-Makarevich
Publisher : Language Science Press
Page : 563 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2018
Category : Electronic books
ISBN : 9783961100859

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Diachrony of differential argument marking by Ilja A. Seržant,Alena Witzlack-Makarevich Pdf

While there are languages that code a particular grammatical role (e.g. subject or direct object) in one and the same way across the board, many more languages code the same grammatical roles differentially. The variables which condition the differential argument marking (or DAM) pertain to various properties of the NP (such as animacy or definiteness) or to event semantics or various properties of the clause. While the main line of current research on DAM is mainly synchronic the volume tackles the diachronic perspective. The tenet is that the emergence and the development of differential marking systems provide a different kind of evidence for the understanding of the phenomenon. The present volume consists of 18 chapters and primarily brings together diachronic case studies on particular languages or language groups including e.g. Finno-Ugric, Sino-Tibetan and Japonic languages. The volume also includes a position paper, which provides an overview of the typology of different subtypes of DAM systems, a chapter on computer simulation of the emergence of DAM and a chapter devoted to the cross-linguistic effects of referential hierarchies on DAM.

The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity

Talmy Givón
The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity Book PDF

Author : Talmy Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027232533

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The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity by Talmy Givón Pdf

Complex hierarchic syntax is a hallmark of human language. The highest level of syntactic complexity, recursive-embedded clauses, has been singled out by some for a special status as the evolutionary apex of the uniquely - human language faculty - evolutionary yet mysteriously immune to Darwinian adaptive selection. Prof. Givón's book treats syntactic complexity as an integral part of the evolutionary rise of human communication. The book first describes grammar as an adaptive instrument of communication, assembled upon the pre-existing platform of pre-linguistic object- and-event cognition and mental representation. It then surveys the two grand developmental trends of human language: diachrony, the communal enterprise directly responsible for fashioning synchronic morpho-syntax and cross-language diversity; and ontogeny, the individual endeavor directly responsible for acquiring the competent use of grammar. The genesis of syntactic complexity along these two developmental trends is compared with second language acquisition, pre-grammatical pidgin and pre-human communication. The evolutionary relevance of language diachrony, language ontogeny and pidginization is argued for on general bio-evolutionary grounds: It is the organism's adaptive on-line behavior- invention, learning and skill acquisition - that is the common thread running through all three developmental trends. The neuro-cognitive circuits that underlie language, and their evolutionary underpinnings, are described and assessed. Recursive embedding turns out to be not an adaptive target on its own, but the by-product of two distinct adaptive moves: (i) the recruitment of conjoined clauses as modal operators on, or referential specifiers of, other clauses; and (ii) the subsequent condensation of paratactic into syntactic structures.

English Syntax in Three Dimensions

Carola Trips
English Syntax in Three Dimensions Book PDF

Author : Carola Trips
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2015-05-19
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9783110395143

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English Syntax in Three Dimensions by Carola Trips Pdf

This book deals with syntax in three dimensions: in part I with the history of grammatical theory, in part II with synchronic aspects of Present-Day English, and in part III with diachronic aspects of English. The most prominent linguistic terms and phenomena are discussed in their historical context and are taken up again in the synchronic and diachronic parts. In this way they can be viewed from different perspectives. At the end of each chapter a summary and recommendations for further reading is provided as well as exercises in parts II and III. There is also a webpage for this book with more material, a glossary, and model answers of the exercises. The aims of the book are 1) to provide an introduction to the history of grammatical theory in order to show how and why generative grammar evolved (alongside other theories); in this way, generative grammar is presented in its historical context, and the motivation for the ideas and assumptions of this theory becomes clear; 2) to show that the terms and phenomena discussed are still applicable and interesting today; 3) to investigate phenomena of Present-Day English and their development in the history of English by means of authentic data, and to find explanations for the developmental paths they took by applying theory. This book primarily aims at undergraduate students of English or linguistics who have already acquired some knowledge of syntax and generative syntactic theory. It is also well suited for students specialising in syntax, syntactic theory, and language change. It can further be used as a study aid for final exams.

Language and Speech in Synchrony and Diachrony

Tatiana G. Klikushina
Language and Speech in Synchrony and Diachrony Book PDF

Author : Tatiana G. Klikushina
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 415 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2017-05-11
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781443892315

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Language and Speech in Synchrony and Diachrony by Tatiana G. Klikushina Pdf

This collection arises from the Fifth International Scientific Conference, “Language and Speech in Synchrony and Diachrony”, held in Taganrog, Russia, devoted to the memory of Russian linguist and philosopher Professor P.V. Chesnokov. It examines the functioning of different levels of linguistic units and categories of speech with regard to intra-and cross-cultural communication in pragmatics of speech. The theory of language and speech is represented not only in synchrony, but in diachrony, in the comparative and typological aspects of languages from various groups, including non-literate Yenisei languages. A further subject of discussion within is the problem of translation, and the relation of language and speech, text and discourse. The volume consists of six parts: Part I: Language and its grammatical categories in diachronic aspect; Part II: Grammar and other subsystems of the language; Part III: Cross-cultural communication and translation; Part IV: Problems of linguistic and diachronic typology; Part V: Pragmalinguistics and speech; and Part VI: Text, discourse, speech in anthropocentric paradigm. The book will be of interest to scholars of philology, linguistics, culture and humanities, as well as those interested in issues of language, culture and language teaching methods.

The Diachrony of Written Language Contact

Nikolaos Lavidas
The Diachrony of Written Language Contact Book PDF

Author : Nikolaos Lavidas
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 395 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2021-12-13
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789004503564

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The Diachrony of Written Language Contact by Nikolaos Lavidas Pdf

Nobody can deny that an account of grammatical change that takes written contact into consideration is a significant challenge for any theoretical perspective. Written contact of earlier periods or from a diachronic perspective mainly refers to contact through translation. The present book includes a diachronic dimension in the study of written language contact by examining aspects of the history of translation as related to grammatical changes in English and Greek in a contrastive way. In this respect, emphasis is placed on the analysis of diachronic retranslations: the book examines translations from earlier periods of English and Greek in relation to various grammatical characteristics of these languages in different periods and in comparison to non-translated texts.

New applications of Role & Reference Grammar

Rolf Kailuweit,Eva Staudinger,Björn Wiemer
New applications of Role Reference Grammar Book PDF

Author : Rolf Kailuweit,Eva Staudinger,Björn Wiemer
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 450 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2009-05-05
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781443810654

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New applications of Role & Reference Grammar by Rolf Kailuweit,Eva Staudinger,Björn Wiemer Pdf

The first part is comprised of seven articles dealing with possible applications of RRG to diachronic syntax and grammaticalization. Beside an overview article, the papers are mainly concerned with changes either in the interaction between topic-focus structure and the Layered Structure of the Clause or in the selection of Privileged Syntactic Arguments and case assignment. The second part consists of applications of RRG to Romance languages, and most of these applications are mainly concerned with the syntax-semantics interface. Different aspects of verbs (verbs as operators, verbs as sentence predicates, verb alternations) and the syntactic and semantic structures they involve are analyzed from an RRG perspective.

Ute Reference Grammar

T. Givón
Ute Reference Grammar Book PDF

Author : T. Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 467 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2011-05-25
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027287410

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Ute Reference Grammar by T. Givón Pdf

Ute is a Uto-Aztecan language of the northernmost (Numic) branch, currently spoken on three reservations in western Colorado and eastern Utah. Like many other native languages of Northern America, Ute is severely endangered. This book is part of the effort toward its preservation. Typologically, Ute offers a cluster of intriguing features, best viewed from the perspective of diachronic change and grammaticalization. The book presents a comprehensive synchronic description of grammatical structures and their communicative functions, as well as a diachronic account of a grammar in the midst of change. The book is the first of a 3-volume series which also includes a collection of oral texts and a dictionary. Ute speakers and tribal members may find in the present volume a step-by-step description of how words are combined into meaningful communication. Linguists may find a detailed account of one language, an account that is unabashedly informed by universals of grammar, communication and change.

Diachrony and Dialects

Paola Benincà,Adam Ledgeway,Nigel Vincent
Diachrony and Dialects Book PDF

Author : Paola Benincà,Adam Ledgeway,Nigel Vincent
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 400 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2014-05-29
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780191005244

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Diachrony and Dialects by Paola Benincà,Adam Ledgeway,Nigel Vincent Pdf

This book examines diachronic change and diversity in the morphosyntax of Romance varieties spoken in Italy. These varieties offer an especially fertile terrain for research into language change, because of both the richness of dialectal variation and the length of the period of textual attestation. While attention in the past has been focussed on the variation found in phonology, morphology, and vocabulary, this volume examines variation in morphosyntactic structures, covering a range of topics designed to exploit and explore the interaction of the geographical and historical dimensions of change. The opening chapter sets the scene for specialist and non-specialist readers alike, and establishes the conceptual and empirical background. There follow a series of case studies investigating the morphosyntax of verbal and (pro)nominal constructions and the organization of the clause. Data are drawn from the full range of Romance dialects spoken within the borders of modern Italy, ranging from Sicily and Sardinia through to Piedmont and Friuli. Some of the studies narrow the focus to a particular construction within a particular dialect; others broaden out to compare different patterns of evolution within different dialects. There is also diversity in the theoretical frameworks adopted by the various contributors. The book aims to take stock of both the current state of the field and the fruits of recent research, and to set out new results and new questions to help move forward the frontiers of that research. It will be a valuable resource not only for those specializing in the study of Italo-Romance varieties, but also for other Romanists and for those interested in exploring and understanding the mechanisms of morphosyntactic change more generally.