Chapter 10. Something out of nothing
-
Brian D. Joseph
Abstract
This paper challenges predictions made within the grammaticalisation framework about what can happen to grammatical material over time. We present two case studies — one from Greek and one from Sanskrit — which demonstrate that claims regarding the origin of grammatical material are too narrow, and that a broader view needs to be taken. We argue that (i) grammatical material can originate in ways other than the downgrading of lexical items; (ii) grammatical change does not unidirectionally move “down” the cline from less tightly bound to more tightly bound; movement “up” the cline is possible too; and (iii) if we focus just on one type of movement involving grammatical material — from less to more dependent — we can miss interesting types of grammatical change.
Abstract
This paper challenges predictions made within the grammaticalisation framework about what can happen to grammatical material over time. We present two case studies — one from Greek and one from Sanskrit — which demonstrate that claims regarding the origin of grammatical material are too narrow, and that a broader view needs to be taken. We argue that (i) grammatical material can originate in ways other than the downgrading of lexical items; (ii) grammatical change does not unidirectionally move “down” the cline from less tightly bound to more tightly bound; movement “up” the cline is possible too; and (iii) if we focus just on one type of movement involving grammatical material — from less to more dependent — we can miss interesting types of grammatical change.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors’ introduction 1
- Chapter 1. Signs of prehistoric language shifts involving Unangam Tunuu (Aleut) 8
- Chapter 2. Early compound accent in Japanese Tōkyō -type dialects 36
- Chapter 3. Phylogenetic signal in the lexicon 59
- Chapter 4. Solving Galton’s problem 74
- Chapter 5. Re-examining initial geminates 109
- Chapter 6. Recurrent change in pronouns 146
- Chapter 7. The role of geography and migration in the branching and spread of the Japonic language family 172
- Chapter 8. Iconicity principles from an evolutionary perspective 194
- Chapter 9. Modality across semantic spaces 216
- Chapter 10. Something out of nothing 240
- Chapter 11. The diachronic development of postverbal dé 得 in Chinese 260
- Chapter 12. Food, contact phenomena and reconstruction in Oriental Berber 283
- Chapter 13. A cognitive-typological perspective on the origins of causative‑applicative polysemy 330
- Index 367
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors’ introduction 1
- Chapter 1. Signs of prehistoric language shifts involving Unangam Tunuu (Aleut) 8
- Chapter 2. Early compound accent in Japanese Tōkyō -type dialects 36
- Chapter 3. Phylogenetic signal in the lexicon 59
- Chapter 4. Solving Galton’s problem 74
- Chapter 5. Re-examining initial geminates 109
- Chapter 6. Recurrent change in pronouns 146
- Chapter 7. The role of geography and migration in the branching and spread of the Japonic language family 172
- Chapter 8. Iconicity principles from an evolutionary perspective 194
- Chapter 9. Modality across semantic spaces 216
- Chapter 10. Something out of nothing 240
- Chapter 11. The diachronic development of postverbal dé 得 in Chinese 260
- Chapter 12. Food, contact phenomena and reconstruction in Oriental Berber 283
- Chapter 13. A cognitive-typological perspective on the origins of causative‑applicative polysemy 330
- Index 367
