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Article published In: Diachronica
Vol. 35:4 (2018) ► pp.451–486

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Pragmatic differentiation of negative markers in the early stages of Jespersen’s cycle in North Germanic

 | University of Cambridge
 | University of Cambridge
Published online: 17 January 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.16040.bla
Abstract
This article investigates the pragmatic function of new negative markers during incipient renewal of negation in ‘Jespersen’s cycle’. We outline a typology of these markers, suggesting a pathway by which they begin as specialized for use with discourse-old propositions and later expand to inferred propositions before finally becoming possible with discourse-new propositions. This framework is applied to an overlooked case of Jespersen’s cycle in North Germanic: replacement of early Norwegian ei(gi) “not” by ekki (originally “nothing”) from 1250 to 1550. We document a sharp rise in frequency of ekki around 1425, suggesting that, until then, ekki had been restricted to negating discourse-old propositions. Once this constraint was lifted, ei(gi) and ekki competed directly, resulting in rapid replacement of ei(gi) by ekki. This typologically unusual direct replacement of a negator with no intervening doubling stage can be attributed to the new negator’s origin as a negative indefinite and the lack of negative concord in early Norwegian.
Résumé
Cet article étudie la fonction pragmatique de nouveaux marqueurs négatifs lors du renouvellement initial de la négation propositionnelle par le cycle de Jespersen. Il présente une typologie de ces marqueurs, semblant indiquer un parcours dans lequel ils se spécialisent initialement dans des emplois de valeur informationnelle ancienne pour plus tard s’étendre à des usages à valeur inférée avant de se retrouver dans des propositions à valeur d’information nouvelle. On applique ce cadre à un cas négligé du cycle de Jespersen dans les langues germaniques du Nord: le remplacement de l’ei(gi) norvégien ancien par ekki (à l’origine « rien ») de 1250 à 1550. Nous documentons une forte augmentation de la fréquence d’ekki vers 1425, ce qui paraît indiquer que, jusque-là, ekki s’était limité à nier des propositions à valeur d’information ancienne. Une fois cette contrainte levée, ei(gi) et ekki entrent directement en compétition, entraînant le remplacement rapide de ei(gi) par ekki. Ce remplacement direct (rare sur le plan typologique) d’un négateur sans étape de dédoublement intermédiaire peut être attribué à l’origine du nouveau négateur comme indéfini négatif et à l’absence de concordance négative en norvégien ancien.
Zusammenfassung
Der vorliegende Artikel analysiert die pragmatische Funktion neu entstehender Negationsausdrücke in der Anfangsphase des Jespersen-Zyklus. Die Typologie solcher Ausdrücke wird umrissen und ein Entwicklungspfad vorgeschlagen, demzufolge diese anfänglich für den Gebrauch mit alten Propositionen eines Diskurses spezifiziert sind, später auf inferierte Propositionen ausgedehnt werden, bevor sie letztendlich auch mit neuen Propositionen eines Diskurses kombinierbar werden. Dieser Pfad wird im Folgenden herangezogen, um einen oft übersehenen Fall des Jespersen-Zyklus im Nordgermanischen zu erklären, nämlich die Ersetzung des frühnorwegischen ei(gi) ‘nicht’ durch ekki (ursprünglich ‘nichts’) zwischen 1250 und 1550. Der Artikel dokumentiert den steilen Anstieg der Frequenz von ekki um 1425, welcher suggeriert, dass ekki bis dahin auf die Negation alter Diskurs-Propositionen beschränkt war. Nach der Aufhebung dieser Beschränkung traten ei(gi) und ekki in direkten Wettbewerb miteinander, was in der schnellen Ersetzung von ei(gi) durch ekki resultierte. Diese typologisch unerwartete Ersetzung eines Negationsausdrucks ohne Zwischenstadium mit Verdopplung des Ausdrucks kann durch den Ursprung des neuen Negators als negatives Indefinitpronomen, sowie durch die Abwesenheit von Negationskongruenz im Frühnorwegischen erklärt werden.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background to Jespersen’s cycle
  • 3.Explanations for Jespersen’s cycle: Emphatic negation and information structure
  • 4.Emphasis and activation
  • 5.Operationalizing activation
  • 6.Negation in North Germanic
  • 7.Method
  • 8.Results
  • 9.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Texts cited
  • References
References (79)
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