Chapter 7. Genealogically motivated grammaticalization

The present contribution suggests how grammaticalization theory may contribute to establishing remote linguistic relationships, more particularly to distinguishing genealogical residue from the effects of areal influence, universal factors and coincidence. The five different types of shared grammaticalization discussed in the introductory chapter of this volume are characterized according to their likelihood of being global (displaying a full correspondence including form) or selective (involving only a partial correspondence excluding form). Globally shared grammaticalization is taken as a strong indication of genealogical relatedness and is supplemented with six other criteria that help to reduce the likelihood of contact effects or universal principles. When these criteria are applied to the verb morphology shared among the Transeurasian languages, a strong case can be made for genealogical relatedness.