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Chapter 3. Demystifying drift

A variationist account
  • Brian D. Joseph
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Shared Grammaticalization
This chapter is in the book Shared Grammaticalization

Abstract

The notion of drift in language change has often been given a somewhat mystical interpretation, as a sort of linguistic “invisible hand”. However, it can be given substance through the recognition of proto-language variability. That is, if variable elements of a proto-language are inherited into individual languages as variation, and if that variability is sociolinguistically submerged, waiting to bubble up to the surface under different sociolinguistic conditions, then it stands to reason that related languages could show parallel developments that make an overt appearance late in their respective traditions. It is argued here that there is nothing mystical about drift and that the phenomenon can be rationalized from a sociolinguistic standpoint.

Abstract

The notion of drift in language change has often been given a somewhat mystical interpretation, as a sort of linguistic “invisible hand”. However, it can be given substance through the recognition of proto-language variability. That is, if variable elements of a proto-language are inherited into individual languages as variation, and if that variability is sociolinguistically submerged, waiting to bubble up to the surface under different sociolinguistic conditions, then it stands to reason that related languages could show parallel developments that make an overt appearance late in their respective traditions. It is argued here that there is nothing mystical about drift and that the phenomenon can be rationalized from a sociolinguistic standpoint.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of tables ix
  4. List of figures xi
  5. List of contributors xiii
  6. Acknowledgements xv
  7. Chapter 1. Towards a typology of shared grammaticalization 1
  8. Part I. Shared grammaticalization: Typological and theoretical aspects
  9. Chapter 2. Areal diffusion and parallelism in drift 23
  10. Chapter 3. Demystifying drift 43
  11. Chapter 4. Contact-induced replication 67
  12. Chapter 5. Isomorphic processes 101
  13. Part II. Shared grammaticalization in the Transeurasian languages
  14. Chapter 6. Scalar additive operators in Transeurasian languages 113
  15. Chapter 7. Genealogically motivated grammaticalization 147
  16. Chapter 8. Verbalization and insubordination in Siberian languages 177
  17. Part III. Shared grammaticalization in the Altaic languages
  18. Chapter 9. Personal pronouns in Core Altaic 211
  19. Chapter 10. Postposed indefinite articles in Mongolic and Turkic languages of the Qinghai-Gansu Sprachbund 227
  20. Chapter 11. Growing apart in shared grammaticalization 251
  21. Chapter 12. Incipient grammaticalization of a redundant purpose clause marker in Lamunxin Ėven 259
  22. Part IV. Shared grammaticalization in Japanese and Korean
  23. Chapter 13. Grammaticalization of space in Korean and Japanese 287
  24. Chapter 14. Grammaticalization of allocutivity markers in Japanese and Korean in a crosslinguistic perspective 317
  25. Chapter 15. A possible grammaticalization in Old Japanese and its implications for the comparison of Korean and Japanese 341
  26. Language index 355
  27. Subject index 359
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.132.08jos

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of tables ix
  4. List of figures xi
  5. List of contributors xiii
  6. Acknowledgements xv
  7. Chapter 1. Towards a typology of shared grammaticalization 1
  8. Part I. Shared grammaticalization: Typological and theoretical aspects
  9. Chapter 2. Areal diffusion and parallelism in drift 23
  10. Chapter 3. Demystifying drift 43
  11. Chapter 4. Contact-induced replication 67
  12. Chapter 5. Isomorphic processes 101
  13. Part II. Shared grammaticalization in the Transeurasian languages
  14. Chapter 6. Scalar additive operators in Transeurasian languages 113
  15. Chapter 7. Genealogically motivated grammaticalization 147
  16. Chapter 8. Verbalization and insubordination in Siberian languages 177
  17. Part III. Shared grammaticalization in the Altaic languages
  18. Chapter 9. Personal pronouns in Core Altaic 211
  19. Chapter 10. Postposed indefinite articles in Mongolic and Turkic languages of the Qinghai-Gansu Sprachbund 227
  20. Chapter 11. Growing apart in shared grammaticalization 251
  21. Chapter 12. Incipient grammaticalization of a redundant purpose clause marker in Lamunxin Ėven 259
  22. Part IV. Shared grammaticalization in Japanese and Korean
  23. Chapter 13. Grammaticalization of space in Korean and Japanese 287
  24. Chapter 14. Grammaticalization of allocutivity markers in Japanese and Korean in a crosslinguistic perspective 317
  25. Chapter 15. A possible grammaticalization in Old Japanese and its implications for the comparison of Korean and Japanese 341
  26. Language index 355
  27. Subject index 359
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