In this paper, we intend to show that grammaticalization can effectively be used as a parameter in language comparison by proposing a corpus-based account of the difference in distribution between demonstratives and definite articles in French and Dutch. Taking cases of literal but non-equivalent… read more
This paper traces the gradual abandonment of a functionalist perspective in labovian sociolinguistics. In an introductory point, the influence of French functionalism on William Labov, via Uriel Weinreich, is discussed. In the central part of the paper, Labov’s changing attitude towards… read more