219-7677
10
7500817
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Marketing Department / Karin Plijnaar, Pieter Lamers
onix@benjamins.nl
201705011130
ONIX title feed
eng
01
EUR
590016518
03
01
01
JB
John Benjamins Publishing Company
01
JB code
LA 227 Eb
15
9789027267436
06
10.1075/la.227
13
2016000409
DG
002
02
01
LA
02
0166-0829
Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today
227
01
Cyclical Change Continued
01
la.227
01
https://benjamins.com
02
https://benjamins.com/catalog/la.227
1
B01
Elly van Gelderen
Gelderen, Elly van
Elly
van
Gelderen
Arizona State University
01
eng
437
viii
429
LAN009000
v.2006
CFK
2
24
JB Subject Scheme
LIN.HL
Historical linguistics
24
JB Subject Scheme
LIN.SYNTAX
Syntax
24
JB Subject Scheme
LIN.THEOR
Theoretical linguistics
06
01
This book presents new data and additional questions regarding the linguistic cycle. The topics discussed are the pronoun, negative, negative existential, analytic-synthetic, distributive, determiner, degree, and future/modal cycles. The papers raise questions about the length of time that cycles take, the interactions between different cycles, the typical stages and their stability, and the areal factors influencing cycles. The languages and language families that are considered in depth are Central Pomo, Cherokee, Chinese, English, French, Gbe, German, Hmong-Mien, Maipurean, Mayan, Mohawk, Mon-Khmer, Niger-Congo, Nupod, Quechuan, Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai , Tuscarora, Ute, and Yoruboid. One paper covers several of the world’s language families. Cyclical change connects linguists working in various frameworks because it is exciting to find a reason behind this fascinating phenomenon.
05
The book reviewed is impressive from many points of view. First and foremost, it is impressive from an empirical perspective: the material discussed in the chapters of the book is from a large number of (genealogically unrelated, typologically distinct and geographically diverse) languages, some of which rarely discussed in the literature. Secondly – and more importantly – the book is impressive from the point of view of its contribution to the concept of ‘linguistic cycle’. Van Gelderen’s and Mithun’s chapters represent an excellent applied discussion of cycles, every general theoretical and methodological aspect concerning this linguistic concept being taken into account in these contributions. The Sapirian ‘drift’ is conceptually undermined by some of the papers, e.g. McWhorter or Szmrecsanyi. The role of the external factors in linguistic change is stressed by McWhorter, who shows that radical analyticity in a few African and Asian languages arose from rapid and untutored non-native adult acquisition of a second language, not from language-internal changes. A (somewhat tacitly assumed) universal directionality of cycles is questioned in van der Auwera and Vossen, who analyse a reversed instance of the Jespersen cycle which proceeds from right to left. Another important recurring idea which is explicitly made prominent by Pye is that linguistic cycles are sensitive to the underlying structure of the language (“We will not know what historical paths that negation takes until we have investigated negation in all languages”, Pye, p. 245). Givón introduces a distinct, but related idea, namely that the universality of a cycle/chain is, to some extent, an illusory epiphenomenon: “local diachronic changes, constrained locally, tend to have global consequences without being necessarily globally constrained” (Givón, p. 253). In her analysis, Wood shows that the cyclic change does not proceed only from lexical-to-functional; rather, functional-to-functional is also a path of change. Finally, more or less explicitly, many of the papers converge on the idea that cycles actually involve repeated instances of grammaticalization. In conclusion, it goes without saying that the book is illuminating for many categories of scholars: first and foremost, for descriptive and historical linguists, but also for theoreticians of all persuasions (generative grammarians, functionalists, etc.) and typologists.
Alexandru Cosmin Nicolae, Romanian Academy, Institute of Linguistics, on Linguist List 28.3125 (2017)
04
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https://benjamins.com/covers/3d_web/la.227.hb.png
10
01
JB code
la.227.001loc
vii
viii
2
Article
1
01
List of contributors
10
01
JB code
la.227.s1
Section header
2
01
Part I Characteristics of Cycles
10
01
JB code
la.227.01gel
3
17
15
Article
3
01
Cyclical change continued
Introduction
1
A01
Elly van Gelderen
Gelderen, Elly van
Elly
van
Gelderen
Arizona State University
01
This introductory chapter outlines what a cycle is, what kinds of cycles are generally accepted, and how the contributions in this book fit the various cycles. Uncontroversial cycles are the negative, future, modal, and determiner cycles; these will be referred to as micro-cycles. More controversial are macro-cycles, i.e. cycles that shift a language from analytic to synthetic and from synthetic to analytic. These cycles are controversial partly because of the use of the terms analytic and synthetic, which will be discussed briefly. The introduction also includes a section on recent work, issues of debate, and on future directions.
10
01
JB code
la.227.02mit
19
46
28
Article
4
01
What cycles when and why
1
A01
Marianne Mithun
Mithun, Marianne
Marianne
Mithun
University of California
01
Certain kinds of grammatical markers show heightened propensities for turnover cross-linguistically. Some, like negatives, are widespread, while others, such as distributives, are rarer. Several factors might underlie these propensities. Most cycles involve two sets of processes: grammaticalization and renewal. Grammaticalization processes, which can result in phonological erosion, semantic generalization and abstraction, and pragmatic weakening, are generally driven by frequency. The resulting form/function mismatches can trigger renewal, stimulated by expressive need and the availability of resources for new markers. These factors are first investigated in negative, demonstrative, pronominal, reflexive, and distributive cycles from languages of the Iroquoian family, indigenous to eastern North America. Another potential factor, language contact, is then explored, with examples from languages indigenous to western North America.
10
01
JB code
la.227.s2
Section header
5
01
Part II Macro-cycles
10
01
JB code
la.227.03mcw
49
92
44
Article
6
01
Is radical analyticity normal
Implications of Niger-Congo and Southeast Asia for typology and diachronic theory
1
A01
John H. McWhorter
McWhorter, John H.
John H.
McWhorter
Columbia University
01
It is assumed among linguists that radical analyticity is a typological state that a language might develop into as the result of ordinary stepwise grammatical change. It is well-known that extensive second-language acquisition tends to make languages more, or even completely, analytic. Contact, however, is thought to be an <i>alternate</i> pathway towards analyticity. Diachronic theory has identified no mechanism via which a grammar would become completely analytic. While some affixes are worn away by phonetic erosion, inexorable processes of reconstitution operate at the same time, such as grammaticalization. The commonly cited case of Egyptian’s inflectional “cycle” described by Hodge (1970) did not depict the language reaching anything approaching a completely analytic state. There is a growing awareness that the “natural” state of language, uninterrupted by adult acquisition, is one of heavy morphological complexity, while large-scale population movements often condition languages of a more moderate morphological complexity (McWhorter 2007; Trudgill 2011). Under this assumption, radically analytic languages are diachronically anomalous. In this presentation, I will propose a contact account for the radical analyticity of a certain few west African Niger-Congo languages and for the languages of Southeast Asia.
10
01
JB code
la.227.04szm
93
112
20
Article
7
01
An analytic-synthetic spiral in the history of English
An
analytic-synthetic spiral in the history of English
1
A01
Benedikt Szmrecsanyi
Szmrecsanyi, Benedikt
Benedikt
Szmrecsanyi
KU Leuven
01
Drawing on techniques familiar from quantitative morphological typology (Greenberg 1960), this contribution marshals usage- and frequency-based, aggregative measures of grammatical analyticity and syntheticity to profile the history of grammatical marking in English between circa AD 1100 and AD 1900, tapping into the Penn Parsed Corpora of Historical English series. Results indicate that the post-Old English period is clearly not characterized by a linear drift towards more analyticity and less syntheticity. Instead, analyticity was on the rise until the end of the Early Modern English period, but declined subsequently; the reverse is true for syntheticity. In terms of typological analyticity-syntheticity coordinates, 20th century English texts are actually fairly similar to 12th and 13th century English texts. I suggest that this historical pattern can be interpreted in terms of a Gabelentz-type spiral.
10
01
JB code
la.227.05bah
113
136
24
Article
8
01
The interaction between the French subject and object cycles
The
interaction between the French subject and object cycles
1
A01
Mariana Bahtchevanova
Bahtchevanova, Mariana
Mariana
Bahtchevanova
Arizona State University
2
A01
Elly van Gelderen
Gelderen, Elly van
Elly
van
Gelderen
Arizona State University
01
In Colloquial French, first and second person preverbal subject pronouns function as agreement markers on the finite verb because they are obligatory and adjacent to the finite verb (e.g. von Wartburg 1943). In other spoken varieties of French, third person pronouns are also agreement markers, having lost gender and number (Fonseca-Greber 2000 for Swiss French). This paper adds new data on third person subjects for Colloquial French, namely third person emphatic pronouns being used on their own, and shows how these data fit the subject cycle. Because, like subject markers, object pronouns are preverbal, they ‘interfere’ with the preverbal subject agreement markers. Our hypothesis was therefore that preverbal object clitics would be replaced by postverbal pronouns (cf. van Gelderen 2011: 52) or would be deleted, as Lambrecht et al. (1996) had already observed. We investigated postverbal placement of object pronouns and found some evidence of this but, more interestingly, we found that object markers were reinterpreted as agreement markers. The important insights for cyclical change this paper provides are that different person markings can be at different stages, that some stages can be skipped, and that one cycle can influence another.
10
01
JB code
la.227.s3
Section header
9
01
Part III The Negative Micro-Cycles
10
01
JB code
la.227.06ves
139
188
50
Article
10
01
The negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data
The
negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data
1
A01
Ljuba N. Veselinova
Veselinova, Ljuba N.
Ljuba N.
Veselinova
Stockholm University
01
In this paper a family-based sample is used in order to test the model of evolution of standard negation markers from negative existentials suggested by Croft (1991) and known as the Negative Existential Cycle (NEC). The comparative data collected here were analyzed and classified following the definitions of type/stages suggested in the original model. The data collected here were also analyzed from a diachronic perspective and whenever possible also supplied with historical information. It is found that the stages with variation are dominant in the families under study. Consequently they are considered to be far more important for this cycle than the stages without variation. Furthermore, the stages with variation are not only synchronically frequent, they are also diachronically stable as they can be demonstrated to last for very long periods of time. The data collected here also suggest that the NEC is rarely completed within a time span for reasonable reconstruction. This is attributed to the importance of the distinction between negation of actions and negation of existence and its contant renewal in human languages.
10
01
JB code
la.227.07auw
189
218
30
Article
11
01
Jespersen cycles in the Mayan, Quechuan and Maipurean languages*
1
A01
Johan van der Auwera
Auwera, Johan van der
Johan
van der
Auwera
University of Antwerp
2
A01
Frens Vossen
Vossen, Frens
Frens
Vossen
University of Antwerp
01
This study looks for evidence for the Jespersen Cycle, which is typically the development from one single negator to another one via a strengthening stage in which both are present, in the Mayan, Quechuan and Maipurean languages. For Mayan and Quechuan languages the evidence is solid, and what is particularly interesting is that the strengthening would seem to have happened twice and that in both families an irrealis marker served to make the negation emphatic. In Maipurean languages the most important development is the extension of a prenominal privative marker (‘without’) to clausal negation, which if it shows up preverbally to a verb that already has postverbal negation, would show us a Jespersen Cycle which, untypically, operates from right to left.
10
01
JB code
la.227.08pye
219
248
30
Article
12
01
Mayan negation cycles
1
A01
Clifton Pye
Pye, Clifton
Clifton
Pye
University of Kansas
01
The Jespersen Cycle (1917) remains the definitive example of the linguistic cycle. A reconstruction of the history of negation marking in the Mayan languages shows that while some Mayan languages exhibit the beginning of a typical Jespersen Cycle, the majority of Mayan languages evidence different types of negation cycles. Differences in the domain of negation strengthening and the absence of postverbal negation strengthening provide evidence of the unique structure of Mayan languages. This evidence suggests that constraints on negation cycles are just as important as the cycles themselves in examining cross-linguistic variation in the structure of negation.
10
01
JB code
la.227.s4
Section header
13
01
Part IV Pronominal, Quantifier, and Modal Micro-cycles
10
01
JB code
la.227.09giv
251
286
36
Article
14
01
The diachrony of pronominal agreement
The
diachrony of pronominal agreement
In UTE and maybe elsewhere
1
A01
T. Givón
Givón, T.
T.
Givón
University of Oregon and White Cloud Ranch, Ignacio, Colorado
01
This paper examines Ute clitic pronouns and contrasts them with other reference-coding devices, such as demonstratives, independent pronouns, zero anaphora, and flexible word-order. It concludes that most independent pronouns are used in contexts of referential discontinuity and most zero and clitic pronouns show extreme referential continuity–a one-clause anaphoric gap. This shows evidence of a typical cycle having taken place: as pronouns weaken into clitics and affixes, they lose referential independence which then needs to be expressed by demonstratives. In addition, the fronting of pronouns and nominal groups is strongly associated with referential or thematic discontinuity whereas the post-posing of pronouns and nominals goes with referential continuity. The chapter also contributes to structural questions: why do pronouns cliticize to verbs and why do they do so in certain positions.
10
01
JB code
la.227.10woo
287
318
32
Article
15
01
The degree cycle
The
degree cycle
1
A01
Johanna L. Wood
Wood, Johanna L.
Johanna L.
Wood
Aarhus University
01
The grammaticalization of the demonstratives <i>this</i>, <i>that</i> and <i>thus</i> is investigated with respect to their functions as degree adverbs using empirical data from dictionaries and historical and modern corpora. It is first argued that <i>thus</i> participates in the CP cycle. With respect to <i>this</i> and <i>that, </i> data relevant to the development of the degree adverb function is presented and possible relevant constructions identified. It is argued that the degree adverb function of <i>that</i> possibly occurs later than the historical dictionaries indicate. The degree adverb function of <i>this</i> is challenging to trace due to the apparent overlap with <i>thus</i>.
10
01
JB code
la.227.11ger
319
350
32
Article
16
01
Modality and gradation
Comparing the sequel of developments in ‘<i>rather</i>’ and ‘<i>eher</i>’
1
A01
Remus Gergel
Gergel, Remus
Remus
Gergel
University of Graz / Saarland University
01
This paper focuses on some effects and possible causes in the concatenation of two micro-developments undergone by words like <i>rather</i>. While the first one maps its semantics from an original temporal-based comparison to modal meanings, the second takes it from modal ordering to the modification of gradable predicates. A comparison is drawn with the parallel sequel of developments observed in the case of German <i>eher </i>(‘sooner, rather’) especially with respect to the apparently distinct flavors of modal ordering available in the two items.
10
01
JB code
la.227.12jed
351
394
44
Article
17
01
All you need is another ‘Need’
On the verbal NPI cycle in the history of German*
1
A01
Łukasz Jędrzejowski
Jędrzejowski, Łukasz
Łukasz
Jędrzejowski
Universität Potsdam
01
In this chapter, I will examine the verbal NPI cycle in the history of German including three NPIs: <i>dürfen</i>, <i>bedürfen</i> and <i>brauchen</i>. In doing so, I will illustrate that <i>dürfen</i> used to function as an NPI in older stages and that it lost its NPI status due to a semantic change. The received wisdom has it that <i>dürfen</i> was then replaced by <i>brauchen</i> (cf. Bech 1951; Kolb 1964; Lenz 1996; Paul 1897). I will challenge this view and provide evidence illustrating that <i>dürfen</i> was first replaced by <i>bedürfen</i>, while <i>bedürfen</i> has being replaced by <i>brauchen</i> in the last three centuries. In my view, <i>bedürfen </i>builds a bridge between <i>dürfen </i>and <i>brauchen</i>.<i> </i>Remarkably, as there is no need to preserve both predicates in Modern German, <i>bedürfen</i> as NPI is about to disappear giving way to <i>brauchen</i>. In what follows, I argue that <i>dürfen</i>, <i>bedürfen</i> and <i>brauchen </i>constitute a linguistic cycle in the sense claimed by van Gelderen (2009, 2011, this volume) and illustrate, both synchronically and diachronically, that although these three predicates have a lot in common, they differ in several respects. Their differences, however, do not weaken the cycle analysis. Quite the opposite, they provide direct evidence for typical hallmarks of a linguistic cycle, whereby “toward the end of the cycle, similar events start again, but they are (slightly) different and happen at a difference pace” (van Gelderen 2011: 3). As it will turn out, these properties hold for the NPI cycle in German as well.
10
01
JB code
la.227.13lab
395
418
24
Article
18
01
The grammaticalization of 要 Yao and the future cycle from Archaic Chinese to Modern Mandarin*
The
grammaticalization of 要 Yao and the future cycle from Archaic Chinese to Modern Mandarin*
1
A01
Robert Santana LaBarge
Santana LaBarge, Robert
Robert
Santana LaBarge
Arizona State University
01
In this paper, I argue that the grammaticalization of the Chinese word 要 <i>yāo/yào</i> shows an instance of the future cycle. Similar to English <i>will</i>, 要 <i>yāo/yào</i> has developed new functional meanings apart from its earlier semantic meanings of Compulsion and Volition, including deontic and future time uses. I adopt the theory of Late Merge (van Gelderen 2004) as a descriptive account to argue that while full verb 要 <i>yāo/yào</i> is in the VP, the deontic and future time uses are in the Aspect Phrase and Mood Phrase respectively. I present evidence of scope differences in Modern Mandarin to support this thesis, and also briefly suggest that a “Problems of Projection” approach (Chomsky 2013, 2014) to grammaticalization may motivate the Late Merge phenomenon. Lastly, I show that although the older uses of 要 <i>yāo/yào</i> still exist in Modern Mandarin, they are increasingly likely to be replaced by renewed forms, as predicted in the cycle framework.
10
01
JB code
la.227.14aut
419
424
6
Article
19
01
Author Index
10
01
JB code
la.227.15sub
425
430
6
Article
20
01
Subject and Language Index
02
JBENJAMINS
John Benjamins Publishing Company
01
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Amsterdam/Philadelphia
NL
04
20160309
2016
John Benjamins B.V.
02
WORLD
13
15
9789027257109
01
JB
3
John Benjamins e-Platform
03
jbe-platform.com
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WORLD
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R
01
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GBP
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gen
00
149.00
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S
473016517
03
01
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JB
John Benjamins Publishing Company
01
JB code
LA 227 Hb
15
9789027257109
13
2015044782
BB
01
LA
02
0166-0829
Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today
227
01
Cyclical Change Continued
01
la.227
01
https://benjamins.com
02
https://benjamins.com/catalog/la.227
1
B01
Elly van Gelderen
Gelderen, Elly van
Elly
van
Gelderen
Arizona State University
01
eng
437
viii
429
LAN009000
v.2006
CFK
2
24
JB Subject Scheme
LIN.HL
Historical linguistics
24
JB Subject Scheme
LIN.SYNTAX
Syntax
24
JB Subject Scheme
LIN.THEOR
Theoretical linguistics
06
01
This book presents new data and additional questions regarding the linguistic cycle. The topics discussed are the pronoun, negative, negative existential, analytic-synthetic, distributive, determiner, degree, and future/modal cycles. The papers raise questions about the length of time that cycles take, the interactions between different cycles, the typical stages and their stability, and the areal factors influencing cycles. The languages and language families that are considered in depth are Central Pomo, Cherokee, Chinese, English, French, Gbe, German, Hmong-Mien, Maipurean, Mayan, Mohawk, Mon-Khmer, Niger-Congo, Nupod, Quechuan, Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai , Tuscarora, Ute, and Yoruboid. One paper covers several of the world’s language families. Cyclical change connects linguists working in various frameworks because it is exciting to find a reason behind this fascinating phenomenon.
05
The book reviewed is impressive from many points of view. First and foremost, it is impressive from an empirical perspective: the material discussed in the chapters of the book is from a large number of (genealogically unrelated, typologically distinct and geographically diverse) languages, some of which rarely discussed in the literature. Secondly – and more importantly – the book is impressive from the point of view of its contribution to the concept of ‘linguistic cycle’. Van Gelderen’s and Mithun’s chapters represent an excellent applied discussion of cycles, every general theoretical and methodological aspect concerning this linguistic concept being taken into account in these contributions. The Sapirian ‘drift’ is conceptually undermined by some of the papers, e.g. McWhorter or Szmrecsanyi. The role of the external factors in linguistic change is stressed by McWhorter, who shows that radical analyticity in a few African and Asian languages arose from rapid and untutored non-native adult acquisition of a second language, not from language-internal changes. A (somewhat tacitly assumed) universal directionality of cycles is questioned in van der Auwera and Vossen, who analyse a reversed instance of the Jespersen cycle which proceeds from right to left. Another important recurring idea which is explicitly made prominent by Pye is that linguistic cycles are sensitive to the underlying structure of the language (“We will not know what historical paths that negation takes until we have investigated negation in all languages”, Pye, p. 245). Givón introduces a distinct, but related idea, namely that the universality of a cycle/chain is, to some extent, an illusory epiphenomenon: “local diachronic changes, constrained locally, tend to have global consequences without being necessarily globally constrained” (Givón, p. 253). In her analysis, Wood shows that the cyclic change does not proceed only from lexical-to-functional; rather, functional-to-functional is also a path of change. Finally, more or less explicitly, many of the papers converge on the idea that cycles actually involve repeated instances of grammaticalization. In conclusion, it goes without saying that the book is illuminating for many categories of scholars: first and foremost, for descriptive and historical linguists, but also for theoreticians of all persuasions (generative grammarians, functionalists, etc.) and typologists.
Alexandru Cosmin Nicolae, Romanian Academy, Institute of Linguistics, on Linguist List 28.3125 (2017)
04
09
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https://benjamins.com/covers/475/la.227.png
04
03
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https://benjamins.com/covers/475_jpg/9789027257109.jpg
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https://benjamins.com/covers/475_tif/9789027257109.tif
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https://benjamins.com/covers/1200_front/la.227.hb.png
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https://benjamins.com/covers/125/la.227.png
25
09
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09
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https://benjamins.com/covers/3d_web/la.227.hb.png
10
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JB code
la.227.001loc
vii
viii
2
Article
1
01
List of contributors
10
01
JB code
la.227.s1
Section header
2
01
Part I Characteristics of Cycles
10
01
JB code
la.227.01gel
3
17
15
Article
3
01
Cyclical change continued
Introduction
1
A01
Elly van Gelderen
Gelderen, Elly van
Elly
van
Gelderen
Arizona State University
01
This introductory chapter outlines what a cycle is, what kinds of cycles are generally accepted, and how the contributions in this book fit the various cycles. Uncontroversial cycles are the negative, future, modal, and determiner cycles; these will be referred to as micro-cycles. More controversial are macro-cycles, i.e. cycles that shift a language from analytic to synthetic and from synthetic to analytic. These cycles are controversial partly because of the use of the terms analytic and synthetic, which will be discussed briefly. The introduction also includes a section on recent work, issues of debate, and on future directions.
10
01
JB code
la.227.02mit
19
46
28
Article
4
01
What cycles when and why
1
A01
Marianne Mithun
Mithun, Marianne
Marianne
Mithun
University of California
01
Certain kinds of grammatical markers show heightened propensities for turnover cross-linguistically. Some, like negatives, are widespread, while others, such as distributives, are rarer. Several factors might underlie these propensities. Most cycles involve two sets of processes: grammaticalization and renewal. Grammaticalization processes, which can result in phonological erosion, semantic generalization and abstraction, and pragmatic weakening, are generally driven by frequency. The resulting form/function mismatches can trigger renewal, stimulated by expressive need and the availability of resources for new markers. These factors are first investigated in negative, demonstrative, pronominal, reflexive, and distributive cycles from languages of the Iroquoian family, indigenous to eastern North America. Another potential factor, language contact, is then explored, with examples from languages indigenous to western North America.
10
01
JB code
la.227.s2
Section header
5
01
Part II Macro-cycles
10
01
JB code
la.227.03mcw
49
92
44
Article
6
01
Is radical analyticity normal
Implications of Niger-Congo and Southeast Asia for typology and diachronic theory
1
A01
John H. McWhorter
McWhorter, John H.
John H.
McWhorter
Columbia University
01
It is assumed among linguists that radical analyticity is a typological state that a language might develop into as the result of ordinary stepwise grammatical change. It is well-known that extensive second-language acquisition tends to make languages more, or even completely, analytic. Contact, however, is thought to be an <i>alternate</i> pathway towards analyticity. Diachronic theory has identified no mechanism via which a grammar would become completely analytic. While some affixes are worn away by phonetic erosion, inexorable processes of reconstitution operate at the same time, such as grammaticalization. The commonly cited case of Egyptian’s inflectional “cycle” described by Hodge (1970) did not depict the language reaching anything approaching a completely analytic state. There is a growing awareness that the “natural” state of language, uninterrupted by adult acquisition, is one of heavy morphological complexity, while large-scale population movements often condition languages of a more moderate morphological complexity (McWhorter 2007; Trudgill 2011). Under this assumption, radically analytic languages are diachronically anomalous. In this presentation, I will propose a contact account for the radical analyticity of a certain few west African Niger-Congo languages and for the languages of Southeast Asia.
10
01
JB code
la.227.04szm
93
112
20
Article
7
01
An analytic-synthetic spiral in the history of English
An
analytic-synthetic spiral in the history of English
1
A01
Benedikt Szmrecsanyi
Szmrecsanyi, Benedikt
Benedikt
Szmrecsanyi
KU Leuven
01
Drawing on techniques familiar from quantitative morphological typology (Greenberg 1960), this contribution marshals usage- and frequency-based, aggregative measures of grammatical analyticity and syntheticity to profile the history of grammatical marking in English between circa AD 1100 and AD 1900, tapping into the Penn Parsed Corpora of Historical English series. Results indicate that the post-Old English period is clearly not characterized by a linear drift towards more analyticity and less syntheticity. Instead, analyticity was on the rise until the end of the Early Modern English period, but declined subsequently; the reverse is true for syntheticity. In terms of typological analyticity-syntheticity coordinates, 20th century English texts are actually fairly similar to 12th and 13th century English texts. I suggest that this historical pattern can be interpreted in terms of a Gabelentz-type spiral.
10
01
JB code
la.227.05bah
113
136
24
Article
8
01
The interaction between the French subject and object cycles
The
interaction between the French subject and object cycles
1
A01
Mariana Bahtchevanova
Bahtchevanova, Mariana
Mariana
Bahtchevanova
Arizona State University
2
A01
Elly van Gelderen
Gelderen, Elly van
Elly
van
Gelderen
Arizona State University
01
In Colloquial French, first and second person preverbal subject pronouns function as agreement markers on the finite verb because they are obligatory and adjacent to the finite verb (e.g. von Wartburg 1943). In other spoken varieties of French, third person pronouns are also agreement markers, having lost gender and number (Fonseca-Greber 2000 for Swiss French). This paper adds new data on third person subjects for Colloquial French, namely third person emphatic pronouns being used on their own, and shows how these data fit the subject cycle. Because, like subject markers, object pronouns are preverbal, they ‘interfere’ with the preverbal subject agreement markers. Our hypothesis was therefore that preverbal object clitics would be replaced by postverbal pronouns (cf. van Gelderen 2011: 52) or would be deleted, as Lambrecht et al. (1996) had already observed. We investigated postverbal placement of object pronouns and found some evidence of this but, more interestingly, we found that object markers were reinterpreted as agreement markers. The important insights for cyclical change this paper provides are that different person markings can be at different stages, that some stages can be skipped, and that one cycle can influence another.
10
01
JB code
la.227.s3
Section header
9
01
Part III The Negative Micro-Cycles
10
01
JB code
la.227.06ves
139
188
50
Article
10
01
The negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data
The
negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data
1
A01
Ljuba N. Veselinova
Veselinova, Ljuba N.
Ljuba N.
Veselinova
Stockholm University
01
In this paper a family-based sample is used in order to test the model of evolution of standard negation markers from negative existentials suggested by Croft (1991) and known as the Negative Existential Cycle (NEC). The comparative data collected here were analyzed and classified following the definitions of type/stages suggested in the original model. The data collected here were also analyzed from a diachronic perspective and whenever possible also supplied with historical information. It is found that the stages with variation are dominant in the families under study. Consequently they are considered to be far more important for this cycle than the stages without variation. Furthermore, the stages with variation are not only synchronically frequent, they are also diachronically stable as they can be demonstrated to last for very long periods of time. The data collected here also suggest that the NEC is rarely completed within a time span for reasonable reconstruction. This is attributed to the importance of the distinction between negation of actions and negation of existence and its contant renewal in human languages.
10
01
JB code
la.227.07auw
189
218
30
Article
11
01
Jespersen cycles in the Mayan, Quechuan and Maipurean languages*
1
A01
Johan van der Auwera
Auwera, Johan van der
Johan
van der
Auwera
University of Antwerp
2
A01
Frens Vossen
Vossen, Frens
Frens
Vossen
University of Antwerp
01
This study looks for evidence for the Jespersen Cycle, which is typically the development from one single negator to another one via a strengthening stage in which both are present, in the Mayan, Quechuan and Maipurean languages. For Mayan and Quechuan languages the evidence is solid, and what is particularly interesting is that the strengthening would seem to have happened twice and that in both families an irrealis marker served to make the negation emphatic. In Maipurean languages the most important development is the extension of a prenominal privative marker (‘without’) to clausal negation, which if it shows up preverbally to a verb that already has postverbal negation, would show us a Jespersen Cycle which, untypically, operates from right to left.
10
01
JB code
la.227.08pye
219
248
30
Article
12
01
Mayan negation cycles
1
A01
Clifton Pye
Pye, Clifton
Clifton
Pye
University of Kansas
01
The Jespersen Cycle (1917) remains the definitive example of the linguistic cycle. A reconstruction of the history of negation marking in the Mayan languages shows that while some Mayan languages exhibit the beginning of a typical Jespersen Cycle, the majority of Mayan languages evidence different types of negation cycles. Differences in the domain of negation strengthening and the absence of postverbal negation strengthening provide evidence of the unique structure of Mayan languages. This evidence suggests that constraints on negation cycles are just as important as the cycles themselves in examining cross-linguistic variation in the structure of negation.
10
01
JB code
la.227.s4
Section header
13
01
Part IV Pronominal, Quantifier, and Modal Micro-cycles
10
01
JB code
la.227.09giv
251
286
36
Article
14
01
The diachrony of pronominal agreement
The
diachrony of pronominal agreement
In UTE and maybe elsewhere
1
A01
T. Givón
Givón, T.
T.
Givón
University of Oregon and White Cloud Ranch, Ignacio, Colorado
01
This paper examines Ute clitic pronouns and contrasts them with other reference-coding devices, such as demonstratives, independent pronouns, zero anaphora, and flexible word-order. It concludes that most independent pronouns are used in contexts of referential discontinuity and most zero and clitic pronouns show extreme referential continuity–a one-clause anaphoric gap. This shows evidence of a typical cycle having taken place: as pronouns weaken into clitics and affixes, they lose referential independence which then needs to be expressed by demonstratives. In addition, the fronting of pronouns and nominal groups is strongly associated with referential or thematic discontinuity whereas the post-posing of pronouns and nominals goes with referential continuity. The chapter also contributes to structural questions: why do pronouns cliticize to verbs and why do they do so in certain positions.
10
01
JB code
la.227.10woo
287
318
32
Article
15
01
The degree cycle
The
degree cycle
1
A01
Johanna L. Wood
Wood, Johanna L.
Johanna L.
Wood
Aarhus University
01
The grammaticalization of the demonstratives <i>this</i>, <i>that</i> and <i>thus</i> is investigated with respect to their functions as degree adverbs using empirical data from dictionaries and historical and modern corpora. It is first argued that <i>thus</i> participates in the CP cycle. With respect to <i>this</i> and <i>that, </i> data relevant to the development of the degree adverb function is presented and possible relevant constructions identified. It is argued that the degree adverb function of <i>that</i> possibly occurs later than the historical dictionaries indicate. The degree adverb function of <i>this</i> is challenging to trace due to the apparent overlap with <i>thus</i>.
10
01
JB code
la.227.11ger
319
350
32
Article
16
01
Modality and gradation
Comparing the sequel of developments in ‘<i>rather</i>’ and ‘<i>eher</i>’
1
A01
Remus Gergel
Gergel, Remus
Remus
Gergel
University of Graz / Saarland University
01
This paper focuses on some effects and possible causes in the concatenation of two micro-developments undergone by words like <i>rather</i>. While the first one maps its semantics from an original temporal-based comparison to modal meanings, the second takes it from modal ordering to the modification of gradable predicates. A comparison is drawn with the parallel sequel of developments observed in the case of German <i>eher </i>(‘sooner, rather’) especially with respect to the apparently distinct flavors of modal ordering available in the two items.
10
01
JB code
la.227.12jed
351
394
44
Article
17
01
All you need is another ‘Need’
On the verbal NPI cycle in the history of German*
1
A01
Łukasz Jędrzejowski
Jędrzejowski, Łukasz
Łukasz
Jędrzejowski
Universität Potsdam
01
In this chapter, I will examine the verbal NPI cycle in the history of German including three NPIs: <i>dürfen</i>, <i>bedürfen</i> and <i>brauchen</i>. In doing so, I will illustrate that <i>dürfen</i> used to function as an NPI in older stages and that it lost its NPI status due to a semantic change. The received wisdom has it that <i>dürfen</i> was then replaced by <i>brauchen</i> (cf. Bech 1951; Kolb 1964; Lenz 1996; Paul 1897). I will challenge this view and provide evidence illustrating that <i>dürfen</i> was first replaced by <i>bedürfen</i>, while <i>bedürfen</i> has being replaced by <i>brauchen</i> in the last three centuries. In my view, <i>bedürfen </i>builds a bridge between <i>dürfen </i>and <i>brauchen</i>.<i> </i>Remarkably, as there is no need to preserve both predicates in Modern German, <i>bedürfen</i> as NPI is about to disappear giving way to <i>brauchen</i>. In what follows, I argue that <i>dürfen</i>, <i>bedürfen</i> and <i>brauchen </i>constitute a linguistic cycle in the sense claimed by van Gelderen (2009, 2011, this volume) and illustrate, both synchronically and diachronically, that although these three predicates have a lot in common, they differ in several respects. Their differences, however, do not weaken the cycle analysis. Quite the opposite, they provide direct evidence for typical hallmarks of a linguistic cycle, whereby “toward the end of the cycle, similar events start again, but they are (slightly) different and happen at a difference pace” (van Gelderen 2011: 3). As it will turn out, these properties hold for the NPI cycle in German as well.
10
01
JB code
la.227.13lab
395
418
24
Article
18
01
The grammaticalization of 要 Yao and the future cycle from Archaic Chinese to Modern Mandarin*
The
grammaticalization of 要 Yao and the future cycle from Archaic Chinese to Modern Mandarin*
1
A01
Robert Santana LaBarge
Santana LaBarge, Robert
Robert
Santana LaBarge
Arizona State University
01
In this paper, I argue that the grammaticalization of the Chinese word 要 <i>yāo/yào</i> shows an instance of the future cycle. Similar to English <i>will</i>, 要 <i>yāo/yào</i> has developed new functional meanings apart from its earlier semantic meanings of Compulsion and Volition, including deontic and future time uses. I adopt the theory of Late Merge (van Gelderen 2004) as a descriptive account to argue that while full verb 要 <i>yāo/yào</i> is in the VP, the deontic and future time uses are in the Aspect Phrase and Mood Phrase respectively. I present evidence of scope differences in Modern Mandarin to support this thesis, and also briefly suggest that a “Problems of Projection” approach (Chomsky 2013, 2014) to grammaticalization may motivate the Late Merge phenomenon. Lastly, I show that although the older uses of 要 <i>yāo/yào</i> still exist in Modern Mandarin, they are increasingly likely to be replaced by renewed forms, as predicted in the cycle framework.
10
01
JB code
la.227.14aut
419
424
6
Article
19
01
Author Index
10
01
JB code
la.227.15sub
425
430
6
Article
20
01
Subject and Language Index
02
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