Chapter 2. Gender stability, gender loss
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Sheila Watts
Abstract
This paper investigates the factors which have led to the diachronic stability of gender as a three-way category in German. Old High German and Old English are contrasted to show how phonological, morphological and semantic changes contribute to a reinforcement of gender as a grammatical category in German, while in English it suffers attrition and loss. The early restructuring of the pronominal declension through analogical pattern generalization is shown to combine gender and case marking in ways which allow the three-way distinction to become more salient over time. The resulting cohesion within noun phrases and gender marking on targets, particularly through the interaction of gender and case marking in the high-frequency nominative and accusative cases, gives gender marking a role in communication. As a result the cognitive effort of acquiring gender pays off and the three-way distinction remains stable.
Abstract
This paper investigates the factors which have led to the diachronic stability of gender as a three-way category in German. Old High German and Old English are contrasted to show how phonological, morphological and semantic changes contribute to a reinforcement of gender as a grammatical category in German, while in English it suffers attrition and loss. The early restructuring of the pronominal declension through analogical pattern generalization is shown to combine gender and case marking in ways which allow the three-way distinction to become more salient over time. The resulting cohesion within noun phrases and gender marking on targets, particularly through the interaction of gender and case marking in the high-frequency nominative and accusative cases, gives gender marking a role in communication. As a result the cognitive effort of acquiring gender pays off and the three-way distinction remains stable.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. The determinants of diachronic stability 1
- Chapter 2. Gender stability, gender loss 11
- Chapter 3. Apparent competing agreement patterns in Middle Low German non-restrictive relative clauses with a first or second person head 39
- Chapter 4. Stability and change in Icelandic weather verbs 69
- Chapter 5. Disharmony in harmony with diachronic stability 101
- Chapter 6. Against V2 in Old Spanish 131
- Chapter 7. V1 clauses in Old Catalan 157
- Chapter 8. Competition, stability and change in the emergence of Brazilian Portuguese 191
- Chapter 9. What is a diachronically stable system in a language-contact situation? 215
- Chapter 10. A variational theory of specialization in acquisition and diachrony 245
- Chapter 11. Stable variation in multidimensional competition 263
- Index 291
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. The determinants of diachronic stability 1
- Chapter 2. Gender stability, gender loss 11
- Chapter 3. Apparent competing agreement patterns in Middle Low German non-restrictive relative clauses with a first or second person head 39
- Chapter 4. Stability and change in Icelandic weather verbs 69
- Chapter 5. Disharmony in harmony with diachronic stability 101
- Chapter 6. Against V2 in Old Spanish 131
- Chapter 7. V1 clauses in Old Catalan 157
- Chapter 8. Competition, stability and change in the emergence of Brazilian Portuguese 191
- Chapter 9. What is a diachronically stable system in a language-contact situation? 215
- Chapter 10. A variational theory of specialization in acquisition and diachrony 245
- Chapter 11. Stable variation in multidimensional competition 263
- Index 291
