The negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data
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Ljuba N. Veselinova
Abstract
In this paper a family-based sample is used in order to test the model of evolution of standard negation markers from negative existentials suggested by Croft (1991) and known as the Negative Existential Cycle (NEC). The comparative data collected here were analyzed and classified following the definitions of type/stages suggested in the original model. The data collected here were also analyzed from a diachronic perspective and whenever possible also supplied with historical information. It is found that the stages with variation are dominant in the families under study. Consequently they are considered to be far more important for this cycle than the stages without variation. Furthermore, the stages with variation are not only synchronically frequent, they are also diachronically stable as they can be demonstrated to last for very long periods of time. The data collected here also suggest that the NEC is rarely completed within a time span for reasonable reconstruction. This is attributed to the importance of the distinction between negation of actions and negation of existence and its contant renewal in human languages.
Abstract
In this paper a family-based sample is used in order to test the model of evolution of standard negation markers from negative existentials suggested by Croft (1991) and known as the Negative Existential Cycle (NEC). The comparative data collected here were analyzed and classified following the definitions of type/stages suggested in the original model. The data collected here were also analyzed from a diachronic perspective and whenever possible also supplied with historical information. It is found that the stages with variation are dominant in the families under study. Consequently they are considered to be far more important for this cycle than the stages without variation. Furthermore, the stages with variation are not only synchronically frequent, they are also diachronically stable as they can be demonstrated to last for very long periods of time. The data collected here also suggest that the NEC is rarely completed within a time span for reasonable reconstruction. This is attributed to the importance of the distinction between negation of actions and negation of existence and its contant renewal in human languages.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
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Part I Characteristics of Cycles
- Cyclical change continued 3
- What cycles when and why 19
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Part II Macro-cycles
- Is radical analyticity normal 49
- An analytic-synthetic spiral in the history of English 93
- The interaction between the French subject and object cycles 113
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Part III The Negative Micro-Cycles
- The negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data 139
- Jespersen cycles in the Mayan, Quechuan and Maipurean languages* 189
- Mayan negation cycles 219
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Part IV Pronominal, Quantifier, and Modal Micro-cycles
- The diachrony of pronominal agreement 251
- The degree cycle 287
- Modality and gradation 319
- All you need is another ‘Need’ 351
- The grammaticalization of 要 Yao and the future cycle from Archaic Chinese to Modern Mandarin* 395
- Author Index 419
- Subject and Language Index 425
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
-
Part I Characteristics of Cycles
- Cyclical change continued 3
- What cycles when and why 19
-
Part II Macro-cycles
- Is radical analyticity normal 49
- An analytic-synthetic spiral in the history of English 93
- The interaction between the French subject and object cycles 113
-
Part III The Negative Micro-Cycles
- The negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data 139
- Jespersen cycles in the Mayan, Quechuan and Maipurean languages* 189
- Mayan negation cycles 219
-
Part IV Pronominal, Quantifier, and Modal Micro-cycles
- The diachrony of pronominal agreement 251
- The degree cycle 287
- Modality and gradation 319
- All you need is another ‘Need’ 351
- The grammaticalization of 要 Yao and the future cycle from Archaic Chinese to Modern Mandarin* 395
- Author Index 419
- Subject and Language Index 425
