On some problem areas in grammaticalization studies

In the past, three central problems were discussed in grammaticalization studies. First, the discrimination and isolation of distinctive features of the process of grammaticalization, second, the question of distinct formal expression, i.e. what counts as an explicitly expressed grammatical function in a language, and third, what is a distinct set of meanings and functions of grammatical items. The paper suggests that these problems, which have in common that they are characterized by non-distinctness in various areas, originate in the fact that grammaticalization studies have not yet proposed a substantial definition of grammar. Assuming that grammatical meaning is based in a deictic relational structure and its modifications, the paper proposes features that a substantial definition of grammar for grammaticalization studies should contain.