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Chapter 4. The threshold of productivity and the ‘irregularization’ of verbs in Early Modern English

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Abstract

This paper tests whether Yang’s Tolerance Principle (TP) is useful in explaining one type of morphological change in the history of English. We suggest that some, but not all, innovative non-default past tenses that appear in the written record between 1500 and 1700 can be explained by the TP and thus could be the results of innovation in native language acquisition (NLA).

Abstract

This paper tests whether Yang’s Tolerance Principle (TP) is useful in explaining one type of morphological change in the history of English. We suggest that some, but not all, innovative non-default past tenses that appear in the written record between 1500 and 1700 can be explained by the TP and thus could be the results of innovation in native language acquisition (NLA).

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I. Phonology and morphology
  6. Chapter 1. Grimm’s Law and Verner’s Law 15
  7. Chapter 2. The foot in the history of English 41
  8. Chapter 3. Ambiguity resolution and the evolution of homophones in English 61
  9. Chapter 4. The threshold of productivity and the ‘irregularization’ of verbs in Early Modern English 91
  10. Part II. Syntax
  11. Chapter 5. The reanalysis of VO in the history of English 115
  12. Chapter 6. The role of (the avoidance of) centre embedding in the change from OV to VO in English 137
  13. Chapter 7. Syntactic changes in verbal clauses and noun phrases from 1500 onwards 163
  14. Chapter 8. Prepositions in Early Modern English argument structure and beyond 201
  15. Chapter 9. Should with non-past reference 225
  16. Chapter 10. Shifting responsibility in passing information 245
  17. Part III. Semantics and pragmatics
  18. Chapter 11. Theatrical practices and grammatical standardization in eighteenth-century Britain 263
  19. Chapter 12. Towards a companionate marriage in Late Modern England? 287
  20. Chapter 13. On the development of OE swā to ModE so and related changes in an atypical group of demonstratives 309
  21. Index 345
English Historical Linguistics
This chapter is in the book English Historical Linguistics
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.358.04rin

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I. Phonology and morphology
  6. Chapter 1. Grimm’s Law and Verner’s Law 15
  7. Chapter 2. The foot in the history of English 41
  8. Chapter 3. Ambiguity resolution and the evolution of homophones in English 61
  9. Chapter 4. The threshold of productivity and the ‘irregularization’ of verbs in Early Modern English 91
  10. Part II. Syntax
  11. Chapter 5. The reanalysis of VO in the history of English 115
  12. Chapter 6. The role of (the avoidance of) centre embedding in the change from OV to VO in English 137
  13. Chapter 7. Syntactic changes in verbal clauses and noun phrases from 1500 onwards 163
  14. Chapter 8. Prepositions in Early Modern English argument structure and beyond 201
  15. Chapter 9. Should with non-past reference 225
  16. Chapter 10. Shifting responsibility in passing information 245
  17. Part III. Semantics and pragmatics
  18. Chapter 11. Theatrical practices and grammatical standardization in eighteenth-century Britain 263
  19. Chapter 12. Towards a companionate marriage in Late Modern England? 287
  20. Chapter 13. On the development of OE swā to ModE so and related changes in an atypical group of demonstratives 309
  21. Index 345
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