Linguistic Universals and Language Change

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 357
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

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

✦ Table of Contents

0199298491......Page 1
Contents......Page 6
The Contributors......Page 10
Abbreviations......Page 14
1.1 Diachrony, synchrony, explanation, and universals......Page 18
1.2 On the sense of universal used here......Page 19
1.3 Explaining universals......Page 23
1.4 Structural approaches......Page 26
1.5 Historical approaches......Page 28
1.6 External approaches......Page 32
1.7 Conclusion......Page 36
PART I: UNIVERSALS AND CHANGE: GENERAL PERSPECTIVES......Page 38
2.1 The relation between synchrony and diachrony......Page 40
2.2 Morphology and binding properties of reflexives......Page 46
2.3 Split ergative case marking......Page 50
2.4 Coda neutralization......Page 62
2.5 Stress/weight solidarity......Page 66
2.6 Conclusion......Page 69
3.1 Introduction......Page 71
3.2 The structure of the argument......Page 72
3.3 Georgian split case marking......Page 74
3.4 Udi endoclitics......Page 85
3.5 The Uniformitarian Hypothesis and explanation of typologically unusual structures......Page 91
3.6 Conclusions......Page 93
PART II: PHONOLOGICAL UNIVERSALS: VARIATION, CHANGE, AND STRUCTURE......Page 94
4.1 Introduction......Page 96
4.2 Natural history......Page 100
4.3 Unnatural history......Page 109
4.4 Other places where segmental and syllabic markedness fail......Page 119
4.5 Summary and implications......Page 123
5.1 Introduction......Page 125
5.2 Substantive and formal universals......Page 127
5.3 A formal universal: Structure Preservation......Page 128
5.4 Three unidirectional paths of change in phonology......Page 131
5.5 A model of sound change......Page 132
5.6 Categorization of phonetic variants......Page 133
5.7 Sound change happens to words......Page 134
5.9 The explanation for Structure Preservation......Page 136
5.10 Mechanisms: processes that are constantly in operation as language is used......Page 137
PART III: MORPHOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS: THE SHAPE OF PARADIGMS......Page 140
6.1 Introduction......Page 142
6.2 Middle and Modern English......Page 145
6.3 Ancient Greek......Page 149
6.4 Directionality and the origin of markedness......Page 156
6.5 Conclusion......Page 159
7.1 Introduction......Page 161
7.2 Two approaches to analogical change......Page 164
7.3 A synchronic model of paradigm acquisition......Page 171
7.4 Typological tendencies: exploring the parameter space of the model......Page 183
7.5 Conclusion......Page 197
PART IV: MORPHOSYNTACTIC PATTERNS: THE FORM OF GRAMMATICAL MARKERS......Page 200
8.1 Overview......Page 202
8.2 Universal asymmetrical morphosyntactic patterns......Page 203
8.3 Economical coding......Page 204
8.4 Eleven complementary expected associations......Page 208
8.5 Non-complementary expected patterns......Page 219
8.6 The diachronic origins of economical/well-coded patterns......Page 222
8.7 Conclusion: the relation between diachrony and language universals......Page 230
9.1 Introduction......Page 232
9.2 Theoretical preliminaries: language-internal and contact-induced grammaticalization......Page 234
9.3 Two puzzles about definiteness marking in Europe......Page 236
9.4 Conclusions......Page 245
PART V: PHRASE STRUCTURE: MODELING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTACTIC CONSTRUCTIONS......Page 248
10.1 Introduction......Page 250
10.2 The classification......Page 251
10.3 Statistics......Page 253
10.4 Cross-categorial generalizations......Page 255
10.5 Derivational generalizations......Page 259
10.6 Hierarchical generalizations......Page 265
10.7 Conclusion......Page 268
11.1 Introduction......Page 270
11.2 Typological features of serialization......Page 271
11.3 The verb TAKE in serialization......Page 275
11.4 The English hendiadic take NP and construction......Page 276
11.5 Take NP and as an emergent construction......Page 281
11.6 Take NP and from a typological viewpoint......Page 288
11.7 The greater take NP and construction......Page 293
11.8 Conclusions......Page 297
PART VI: CONCLUSION......Page 302
12.1 Introduction......Page 304
12.2 The current state of knowledge......Page 305
12.4 Further questions......Page 309
12.5 Conclusion......Page 310
Bibliography......Page 312
A......Page 344
C......Page 345
D......Page 346
F......Page 347
H......Page 348
K......Page 349
L......Page 350
N......Page 351
P......Page 352
S......Page 353
T......Page 354
W......Page 355
Z......Page 356

✦ Subjects

Языки и языкознание;Лингвистика;Типология и сопоставительное языкознание;