Historical core vocabulary: Spring and/or anchor
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Valentina Skybina
Abstract
This paper argues that lexis evolution is guided by certain internal impulses generated and stimulated by the processes taking place in its historical core (HCV) comprised by the lexemes dating back to the earliest stages of the language history and characterized by simple morphological structure, stylistic neutrality, polysemy, high derivational potential, and high frequency.1 Diachronic research of the lexes of two cognate languages – English and German – demonstrated that these characteristics not only account for the HCV longevity but also ensure its structural, semantic, and functional centrality, and consequently, evolutionary significance. The study demonstrated that the role the HCV plays in lexis evolution is twofold. On the one hand, the interplay of its inherent characteristics, that ensured its structural and semantic ties with the entire lexis, makes it a stabilizing factor. On the other hand, the same attributes alongside with intense developmental processes in the HCV which are disseminated throughout the system make it a powerful dynamic factor.
Abstract
This paper argues that lexis evolution is guided by certain internal impulses generated and stimulated by the processes taking place in its historical core (HCV) comprised by the lexemes dating back to the earliest stages of the language history and characterized by simple morphological structure, stylistic neutrality, polysemy, high derivational potential, and high frequency.1 Diachronic research of the lexes of two cognate languages – English and German – demonstrated that these characteristics not only account for the HCV longevity but also ensure its structural, semantic, and functional centrality, and consequently, evolutionary significance. The study demonstrated that the role the HCV plays in lexis evolution is twofold. On the one hand, the interplay of its inherent characteristics, that ensured its structural and semantic ties with the entire lexis, makes it a stabilizing factor. On the other hand, the same attributes alongside with intense developmental processes in the HCV which are disseminated throughout the system make it a powerful dynamic factor.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgements ix
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Phonology
- Middle English vowel length in French loanwords 9
- Dental fricatives and stops in Germanic 19
- Dialect variation and the Dutch diminutive 37
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Part II. Morphology, syntax and semantics
- On the disappearance of genitive types in Middle English 49
- An asymmetric view on stage II in Jespersen’s cycle in the West Germanic languages 61
- Temporal reference and grammaticalization in the Spanish perfect(ive) 73
- (Un)-interpretable features and grammaticalization 83
- Imperative morphology in diachrony evidence from the Romance languages 99
- VO vs V(…)O en Français 109
- On the development of Recipient passives in DO languages 123
- The emergence of DP in the history of English 135
- A diachronic view of Psychological verbs with Dative Experiencers in Spanish and Romanian 149
- On the loss of the masculine genitive plural in Cypriot Greek 161
- The rise of peripheral modifiers in the noun phrase 175
- Wild variation, random patterns, and uncertain data* 185
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Part III. Sociolinguistics and dialectology
- Le changement linguistique dans la langue orale selon deux recherches sur le terrain séparées d’un siècle 197
- Patrons sociolinguistiques chez trois générations de locuteurs acadiens 211
- Change of functions of the first person pronouns in Chinese 223
- Vinderup in real time 233
- Variation in real time 245
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Part IV. Tools and methodology
- UNIDIA 259
- Visualization, validation and seriation 269
- Quantifying linguistic changes 285
- Historical core vocabulary: Spring and/or anchor 295
- Index of languages and terms 307
- Index of subjects and terms 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgements ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Phonology
- Middle English vowel length in French loanwords 9
- Dental fricatives and stops in Germanic 19
- Dialect variation and the Dutch diminutive 37
-
Part II. Morphology, syntax and semantics
- On the disappearance of genitive types in Middle English 49
- An asymmetric view on stage II in Jespersen’s cycle in the West Germanic languages 61
- Temporal reference and grammaticalization in the Spanish perfect(ive) 73
- (Un)-interpretable features and grammaticalization 83
- Imperative morphology in diachrony evidence from the Romance languages 99
- VO vs V(…)O en Français 109
- On the development of Recipient passives in DO languages 123
- The emergence of DP in the history of English 135
- A diachronic view of Psychological verbs with Dative Experiencers in Spanish and Romanian 149
- On the loss of the masculine genitive plural in Cypriot Greek 161
- The rise of peripheral modifiers in the noun phrase 175
- Wild variation, random patterns, and uncertain data* 185
-
Part III. Sociolinguistics and dialectology
- Le changement linguistique dans la langue orale selon deux recherches sur le terrain séparées d’un siècle 197
- Patrons sociolinguistiques chez trois générations de locuteurs acadiens 211
- Change of functions of the first person pronouns in Chinese 223
- Vinderup in real time 233
- Variation in real time 245
-
Part IV. Tools and methodology
- UNIDIA 259
- Visualization, validation and seriation 269
- Quantifying linguistic changes 285
- Historical core vocabulary: Spring and/or anchor 295
- Index of languages and terms 307
- Index of subjects and terms 309
