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Article published In: Studies in Language
Vol. 40:1 (2016) ► pp.137–175

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Constructional change vs. grammaticalization

From compounding to derivation

 | University of Cologne
 | Tohoku University
 | Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Published online: 29 April 2016
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.40.1.05hei
Building on recent findings made in the framework of Construction Grammar, on the one hand, and within the framework on grammaticalization, on the other, the present paper is concerned with the development from lexical compounding to derivation. Compounding is presumably the most common source of derivational categories and this applies in particular to modifying (endocentric) compounds, which are the main subject of this paper. By looking at three cases of grammatical change in English, German, and the West African language Ewe it is argued that the two frameworks differ in their goals and in their approaches. Both frameworks search for regularities in grammatical change, but whereas Construction Grammar has a focus on constructional change, that is, change in the development of constructions, the central question asked by students of grammaticalization is how and why, e.g., lexical categories give rise to grammatical (or functional) categories.
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