The Diachrony of Grammar
The case-studies assembled in these two volumes span a lifetime of research into the diachrony of grammar. That is, into the rise and fall of syntactic constructions and their attendant grammatical morphology. While focused squarely on the data, the studies are nonetheless cast in an explicit theoretical perspective – adaptive, developmental, variationist. Taken as a whole, this work constitutes a frontal assault on Ferdinand de Saussure's corrosive legacy in linguistics. Over the years, reviewers slapped the author's wrist periodically for having dared to commit that most heinous of sins against de Saussure's hallowed legacy – panchronic grammar. In this work he pleads guilty, having never seen a piece of synchronic data that didn't reek, to high heaven, of the diachrony that gave it rise. Reek in two distinct ways: first with the frozen relics of the past that prompt us to reconstruct prior diachronic states; and second with the synchronic variation that hints at ongoing change. Conversely, the author confesses to having never seen a diachronic explanation that did not hinge on the synchronic principles – Carnap's general propositions – that govern language behavior. The synchrony and diachrony of grammar are twin faces of the same coin. To study one without the other is to gut both. By understanding how synchronic grammars come into being we also understand the cognitive, communicative, neurological and developmental universals that constrain diachronic change – and through it synchronic typology.
[Not in series, 192] 2015. 928 pp. (Hb in 2 vols.)
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 21 September 2015
Published online on 21 September 2015
© T. Givón
Table of Contents
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Preface | pp. ix–xi
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VOLUME I
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Part I: Perspective
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Chapter 1. Historical syntax and synchronic morphology: An archaeologist’s field trip | pp. 1–26
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Chapter 2. From discourse to syntax: Grammar as a processing strategy | pp. 27–48
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Chapter 3. Where does crazy syntax come from? | pp. 49–74
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Chapter 4. The SOV mystery and language evolution | pp. 75–98
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Part II: Out of Africa
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On the diachrony of the Bantu copula ni | pp. 99–116
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Chapter 6. On the verbal origin of the Bantu verb suffixes | pp. 117–130
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Chapter 7. Serial verbs and syntactic change: Niger-Congo | pp. 131–162
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Chapter 8. Topic, pronoun and grammatical agreement | pp. 163–196
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Chapter 9. The drift from VSO to SVO in Biblical Hebrew: The pragmatics of tense-aspect | pp. 197–244
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Chapter 10. The evolution of subordinate clauses in Biblical Hebrew | pp. 245–280
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Chapter 11. The diachrony of the so-called ‘ethical dative’ | pp. 281–306
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Chapter 12. The evolution of indefinite markers | pp. 307–326
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Part III: Voices
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Chapter 13. The rise of the English GET-passive | pp. 327–354
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Chapter 14. Diachronic hybrids: The Lunda Passive | pp. 355–374
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Chapter 15. The evolution of de-transitive voice in Tolowa Athabaskan | pp. 375–408
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Chapter 16. Tale of two passives: Internal reconstruction in Ute | pp. 409–426
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Chapter 17. Toward a diachronic typology of passive voice | pp. 427–442
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Bibliography
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Language Index
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Topic Index
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VOLUME II
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Part IV: High up the mountain
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Chapter 18. The evolution of Ute case-marking: Preface | pp. 445–464
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Chapter 19. The evolution of Ute post-positions | pp. 465–476
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Chapter 20. The diachrony of pronominal agreement in Ute | pp. 477–506
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Chapter 21. The diachrony of complex verbs in Ute | pp. 507–524
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Chapter 22. The usual suspects: The grammaticalization of ‘do’, ‘be’, ‘have’ and ‘go’ in Ute | pp. 525–552
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Part V: Complexity
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Chapter 23. Serial verbs and the mental reality of ‘event’ | pp. 555–576
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Chapter 24. The puzzle of Ngabere auxiliaries: Comparative cum internal reconstruction in Chibchan and Misumalpan | pp. 577–598
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Chapter 25. The genesis of complex verb phrases: Multiple routes to clause-union | pp. 599–636
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Chapter 26. The genesis of complex noun phrases | pp. 637–660
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Chapter 27. Nominalization, de-subordination and re-finitization | pp. 661–692
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Part VI: Prospective
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Chapter 28. Diachrony, ontogeny, and evolution | pp. 695–730
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Chapter 29. Internal reconstruction: As method, as theory | pp. 731–770
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Chapter 30. The intellectual roots of functionalism in linguistics | pp. 771–786
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Chapter 31. Beyond Structuralism: Exorcising Saussure’s ghost | pp. 787–800
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Chapter 32. Mi vida loca en la linguística: A conversation with Zarina Estrada | pp. 801–818
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Bibliography | pp. B1–B32
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Language Index | pp. I1–I2
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Topic Index | pp. I3–I14
“Givón has been one of the primary contributors to the rise of interest in diachronic syntax over the last 45 years. From his “archaeologist’s field trip” in 1971 through his 2009 book on the genesis of syntactic complexity, he has given us many classic articles on the evolution of morphology and syntax. This collection gathers over thirty of these works in one place, on the one hand tracking the evolution of his often seminal thinking, and on the other, updating the discussion in each paper to reflect the perspective he has gained after 40 years at the cutting edge of the field.”
Spike Gildea, University of Oregon
Cited by (34)
Cited by 34 other publications
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Nir, Bracha
2020. Chapter 18. A usage-based typology of Modern Hebrew syntax. In Usage-Based Studies in Modern Hebrew [Studies in Language Companion Series, 210], ► pp. 659 ff.
Schnell, Stefan & Danielle Barth
Goldstein, D. M.
Jia, Yanli
Krasnoukhova, Olga & Johan van der Auwera
Kuteva, Tania, Bernd Heine, Bo Hong, Haiping Long, Heiko Narrog & Seongha Rhee
Xu, Laijuan & Qingshun He
Gildea, Spike
2018. Chapter 14. Reconstructing the copulas and nonverbal predicate constructions in Cariban. In Nonverbal Predication in Amazonian Languages [Typological Studies in Language, 122], ► pp. 365 ff.
Heine, Bernd
2018. Are there two different ways of approaching grammaticalization?. In New Trends in Grammaticalization and Language Change [Studies in Language Companion Series, 202], ► pp. 23 ff.
Green, Clarence
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TRAUGOTT, ELIZABETH CLOSS
Evans, Nicholas & Honoré Watanabe
2016. Chapter 1. The dynamics of insubordination. In Insubordination [Typological Studies in Language, 115], ► pp. 1 ff.
Givón, T.
Givón, T.
Givón, T.
Givón, T.
Givón, T.
Givón, T.
[no author supplied]
[no author supplied]
[no author supplied]
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[no author supplied]
2021. Chapter 6. The pre-verbal ‘Augment’ e- in Homeric Greek when preceded by prepositions. In The Life Cycle of Adpositions,
[no author supplied]
2021. Chapter 1. How do nominal case-markers become verbal affixes?. In The Life Cycle of Adpositions,
[no author supplied]
[no author supplied]
2021. Chapter 5. The pre-verbal ‘Augment’ e- in Homeric Greek as an earlier cycle of pre-verbal prepositions. In The Life Cycle of Adpositions,
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Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CFF: Historical & comparative linguistics
Main BISAC Subject
LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General