In:Historical Linguistics: A cognitive grammar introduction
Margaret E. Winters
[Not in series 227] 2020
► pp. vii–xii
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Published online: 8 May 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/z.227.toc
https://doi.org/10.1075/z.227.toc
Table of contents
List of figuresxiii
Prefacexv
Acknowledgmentsxvii
Chapter 1.What is language change?1
1.Introduction1
2.Characteristics of language4
2.1The human element4
2.2Arbitrariness4
2.3Creativity5
2.4Physicality6
3.Change6
3.1Life cycles6
3.2What changes?9
4.Evidence of change11
5.Cognitive Grammar as a framework15
6.Book overview17
7.Conclusion20
Exercises20
For further investigation22
Chapter 2.Studying change23
1.Overview23
2.Uniformitarianism24
3.Coincidence and universals24
3.1Pure coincidence25
3.2Universals26
3.2.1Absolute universals26
3.2.2Relative universals28
4.Genetic relationships and families29
4.1The Genealogical (Tree) model29
4.2The wave model32
4.3Contemporary approaches
5.Contact among languages35
5.1Kinds of contact35
5.2Stratal influence38
5.3Areal influence41
5.4Pidgins and creoles42
6.Conclusion43
Exercises44
For further investigation45
Chapter 3.Lexical change47
1.Overview47
2.Etymology47
2.1Basic vocabulary48
2.2Coinage48
2.3Lexical loss52
3.The nature of meaning53
4.More general trends58
4.1Generalization (widening)58
4.2Narrowing58
4.3Meliorization59
4.4Pejoration60
4.5Shift62
4.6Metaphor63
4.7Metonymy66
5.Wider tendencies and causation67
5.1Root, epistemic, and speech act meaning68
6.Conclusion70
Exercises71
For further investigation71
Chapter 4.Phonetic change73
1.Introduction73
1.1The scope of phonetics73
2.A note on conventions and features76
3.Unconditioned change77
3.1Simple changes77
3.2Complex changes: Chain shifts78
3.3Conclusion80
4.Conditioned change81
4.1Positional conditioning81
4.2Conditioning by surrounding elements84
4.2.1Segmental influence84
4.2.2Suprasegmental influence89
5.The wider context91
5.1Imitation and borrowing92
5.2Fortitions and lenitions92
6.Consciousness of change93
7.Conclusion93
Exercises94
For further investigation95
Chapter 5.Phonological change97
1.Introduction97
1.1Phonetics and phonology97
1.2The phoneme98
1.3Formalism100
1.4Summary101
2.Processes of phonemic change101
2.1Merger101
2.2Split103
2.2.1Allophonic split104
2.2.2The creation of phonemes: Phonologization105
3.Phonological change as recategorization107
3.1Individual changes110
3.2Phonemic inventories110
3.2.1Patterns110
3.2.2Features113
4.Actuation and expansion of use115
4.1Actuation115
4.2Expansion of use116
5.Conclusion117
Exercises117
For further investigation118
Chapter 6.Morphological change119
1.Introduction119
1.1Morphology and the morpheme119
2.Word-level morphology120
2.1Coinage through affixes121
2.2Reanalysis across boundaries122
3.Free and bound morphemes123
3.1Grammaticalization124
3.2New free morphemes from bound126
4.Analogical change128
4.1Examples129
4.1.1English plurals129
4.1.2English verbs130
4.2Kuryɬowicz’s paper on analogy131
5.Paradigmatic and other systematic change135
5.1Series and semantically related words135
5.2Paradigmatic changes137
5.3A return to Sturtevant’s paradox138
6.Concluding comments140
Exercises140
For further investigation141
Chapter 7.Syntactic change143
1.Introduction143
1.1The nature of syntax143
1.2Diachronic syntax144
1.2.1Structural approaches and feasibility144
1.2.2Reconstruction144
1.2.3What to do?145
1.2.4Rate of change149
2.Word order151
2.1Simple word order change151
2.2Universals and universal tendencies152
2.3Iconicity156
2.4The analytic-synthetic cycle159
3.Reanalysis and grammaticalization161
3.1The Latin and Romance passive162
3.2Complementation and subordinate clauses163
4.Conclusions165
Exercises166
For further investigation167
Chapter 8.Actuation and spread169
1.Introduction169
2.Actuation170
3.Spread172
3.1Kinds of spread172
3.2The role of variation 173
3.2.1Weinreich, Labov, and Herzog (1968)173
3.2.2Social marking175
3.2.3Martha’s Vineyard177
3.2.4Other determiners178
4.Lexical diffusion179
5.The role of frequency and cognitive salience180
6.When can we say that change has emerged from spread?181
7.Conclusion182
Exercises183
For further investigation183
Chapter 9.Methodology185
1.Introduction: Theory and method185
2.Text-based data186
2.1Philology187
2.1.1Definitions187
2.1.2Challenges187
2.2Corpus data and mining190
3.Reconstruction192
3.1Underlying assumptions192
3.1.1Relationships among languages192
3.1.2The ultimate single form192
3.1.3The regularity hypothesis193
3.1.4Occam’s Razor193
3.1.5Hypothesis construction193
3.2Comparative reconstruction194
3.2.1Language family data194
3.2.2Correspondence sets196
3.2.3Testing the Reconstruction198
3.2.4Limitations199
3.3Phylogenesis199
3.4Internal reconstruction200
3.4.1Some examples201
3.4.2Limitations202
3.5Syntactic reconstruction203
3.6Combining methods204
3.7Shortcomings and challenges in reconstruction205
4.Philology and reconstruction compared and combined206
5.Conclusion208
Exercises209
For further investigation211
Chapter 10.Causation, prediction, and final remarks213
1.Introduction213
1.1Generalizations about change and cognition213
2.The potential for prediction216
2.1Aspects of change favoring prediction217
2.1.1Drift and typological co-occurrence217
2.1.2Typology, grammaticalization, and cyclical change218
2.2Processes which do not allow prediction219
2.2.1Emergence219
2.2.2Competition219
2.3Factors of change for further exploration220
2.3.1Genetic affiliation220
2.3.2Contact221
2.3.3The role of frequency221
2.4Summary222
3.Fundamental causation222
3.1Biological causation223
3.2Social causation223
3.3Cognitive causation224
3.3.1Phonological patterns224
3.3.2Grammatical patterns225
3.3.3Humboldt’s universal226
3.3.4Summary: Cognitive functioning227
4.Language as a system228
Exercises229
For further investigation230
References231
Index237
