From temporal to modal: Divergent fates of the Latin synthetic pluperfect in Spanish and Portuguese
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Martin G. Becker
Abstract
This corpus-based study examines the different historical stages the Latin synthetic pluperfect underwent in Spanish and Portuguese. It tries to explain parallel and divergent developments of the morpheme -ara leading to opposite results: the strengthening of the form as an exclusively temporal category in Portuguese and its transformation into a fully-fledged past subjunctive in Spanish. In our analysis we will focus on three main aspects: first, the relevance of the underlying logical-conceptual structures as the enabling condition for the expansion of the category into new domains; second, the role of reanalysis as a listener-based strategy in discourse as the decisive mechanism for functional change; and third, the validity of the prototype concept as a device to explain the organisation of grammatical categories from a diachronic perspective. With our case study we address key questions of this book, namely the locus, the motivation and the nature of linguistic change.
Abstract
This corpus-based study examines the different historical stages the Latin synthetic pluperfect underwent in Spanish and Portuguese. It tries to explain parallel and divergent developments of the morpheme -ara leading to opposite results: the strengthening of the form as an exclusively temporal category in Portuguese and its transformation into a fully-fledged past subjunctive in Spanish. In our analysis we will focus on three main aspects: first, the relevance of the underlying logical-conceptual structures as the enabling condition for the expansion of the category into new domains; second, the role of reanalysis as a listener-based strategy in discourse as the decisive mechanism for functional change; and third, the validity of the prototype concept as a device to explain the organisation of grammatical categories from a diachronic perspective. With our case study we address key questions of this book, namely the locus, the motivation and the nature of linguistic change.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- Syntactic change from within and from without syntax: A usage-based analysis 13
- On explaining the rise of c'est -clefts in French 31
- The role of the plural system in Romance 57
- Morphological developments affecting syntactic change 85
- Grammaticalisation within the IP-domain 107
- Imperfect systems and diachronic change 127
- From temporal to modal: Divergent fates of the Latin synthetic pluperfect in Spanish and Portuguese 147
- Non-lexical core-arguments in Basque, Romance and German: How (and why) Spanish syntax is shifting towards clausal headmarking and morphological cross-reference 181
- Towards a comprehensive view of language change: Three recent evolutionary approaches 215
- Subject Index 251
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- Syntactic change from within and from without syntax: A usage-based analysis 13
- On explaining the rise of c'est -clefts in French 31
- The role of the plural system in Romance 57
- Morphological developments affecting syntactic change 85
- Grammaticalisation within the IP-domain 107
- Imperfect systems and diachronic change 127
- From temporal to modal: Divergent fates of the Latin synthetic pluperfect in Spanish and Portuguese 147
- Non-lexical core-arguments in Basque, Romance and German: How (and why) Spanish syntax is shifting towards clausal headmarking and morphological cross-reference 181
- Towards a comprehensive view of language change: Three recent evolutionary approaches 215
- Subject Index 251
