The Paradox of Grammatical Change
Perspectives from Romance
Editors
Recent years have seen intense debates between formal (generative) and functional linguists, particularly with respect to the relation between grammar and usage. This debate is directly relevant to diachronic linguistics, where one and the same phenomenon of language change can be explained from various theoretical perspectives. In this, a close look at the divergent and/or convergent evolution of a richly documented language family such as Romance promises to be useful. The basic problem for any approach to language change is what Eugenio Coseriu has termed the paradox of change: if synchronically, languages can be viewed as perfectly running systems, then there is no reason why they should change in the first place. And yet, as everyone knows, languages are changing constantly. In nine case studies, a number of renowned scholars of Romance linguistics address the explanation of grammatical change either within a broadly generative or a functional framework.
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 293] 2008. vi, 252 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 1 July 2008
Published online on 1 July 2008
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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IntroductionUlrich Detges and Richard Waltereit | pp. 1–12
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Syntactic change from within and from without syntax: A usage-based analysisRichard Waltereit and Ulrich Detges | pp. 13–30
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On explaining the rise of c'est-clefts in FrenchAndreas Dufter | pp. 31–56
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The role of the plural system in RomanceElisabeth Stark | pp. 57–84
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Morphological developments affecting syntactic changeMaria Goldbach | pp. 85–106
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Grammaticalisation within the IP-domainSusann Fischer | pp. 107–126
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Imperfect systems and diachronic changeGiampaolo Salvi | pp. 127–146
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From temporal to modal: Divergent fates of the Latin synthetic pluperfect in Spanish and PortugueseMartin G. Becker | pp. 147–180
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Non-lexical core-arguments in Basque, Romance and German: How (and why) Spanish syntax is shifting towards clausal headmarking and morphological cross-referenceHans-Ingo Radatz | pp. 181–214
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Towards a comprehensive view of language change: Three recent evolutionary approachesEsme Winter-Froemel | pp. 215–250
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Subject Index | pp. 251–252
“U. Detges et R. Waltereit ont réussi dans ce volume la gageure de faire dialoguer des spécialistes de la linguistique diachronique d'inspiration fonctionnaliste et formaliste, ce qui permet à chaque lecteur/lectrice d'évaluer soi-même l'impact des deux types d'argumentation en particulier face à la question délicate du locus de changement linguistique: au cours de l'acquisition ou au long de l'usage.”
Jacques François & Sophie Prévost, in Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique de Paris, Tome105/2, 2010
“[...] a volume that is very successful both in presenting a fairly comprehensive view of language change by confronting theoretically different approaches, and in achieving a high degree of coherence across the individual contributions.”
Maj-Britt Mosegaard Hansen, The University of Manchester, in Folia Linguistica 43/1 (2009)
Cited by (8)
Cited by eight other publications
Di Caro, Vincenzo Nicolò
2023. Strategies of Indefiniteness Marking in Central Sicilian—Evidence from the Dialect of Delia. Languages 8:4 ► pp. 227 ff. 
Balla-Johnson, William
2022. An emerging scripta explains variation in the negative particlespasandmiein Old French. Journal of Historical Sociolinguistics 8:1 ► pp. 113 ff.
Waltereit, Richard
2020. Parallels between the negative cycle and the rise of interrogative marking in French. Journal of Historical Pragmatics 21:2 ► pp. 263 ff.
CAPPELLE, BERT
2017. Changing the system from within – a response to Hoffmann. English Language and Linguistics 21:2 ► pp. 375 ff.
Levon, Erez & Isabelle Buchstaller
2015. Perception, cognition, and linguistic structure: The effect of linguistic modularity and cognitive style on sociolinguistic processing. Language Variation and Change 27:3 ► pp. 319 ff.
Oesterreicher, Wulf
2015. Zum Status der romanistischen Linguistik – Gegen ihre ‚Verächter‘. In Historische Sprachwissenschaft als philologische Kulturwissenschaft, ► pp. 15 ff.
Béguelin, Marie-José
2014. Deux points de vue sur le changement linguistique. Langages N° 196:4 ► pp. 13 ff.
[no author supplied]
2013. Lessons Learned from Research on Quotation. In Quotatives, ► pp. 245 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 25 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CFK: Grammar, syntax
Main BISAC Subject
LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General