Double agreement in the Alpine languages
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Melani Wratil
Abstract
This paper provides a description and diachronic analysis of various double agreement effects on the basis of Bavarian, Alemannic and Ladin data. It is shown that such occurrences of agreement allomorphy in verbal inflection indicate an intermediate stage in the grammaticalization of subject enclitics to verbal subject agreement markers. They have to be seen as a result of cognitive selection procedures that operate during language acquisition ensuring the choice of the most specific forms and the most economical structures that are compatible with the Primary Linguistic Data. In the alpine varieties at hand the emergence of double agreement has brought about an important specialization of pronominal and verbal paradigms and at the same time a considerable economization of syntactic representations.
Abstract
This paper provides a description and diachronic analysis of various double agreement effects on the basis of Bavarian, Alemannic and Ladin data. It is shown that such occurrences of agreement allomorphy in verbal inflection indicate an intermediate stage in the grammaticalization of subject enclitics to verbal subject agreement markers. They have to be seen as a result of cognitive selection procedures that operate during language acquisition ensuring the choice of the most specific forms and the most economical structures that are compatible with the Primary Linguistic Data. In the alpine varieties at hand the emergence of double agreement has brought about an important specialization of pronominal and verbal paradigms and at the same time a considerable economization of syntactic representations.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of contributors ix
- Synchrony and diachrony 1
-
Part I. The role of analogy and constructions in the synchrony-diachrony interface
- Gradualness in language change 27
- Gradual change and continual variation 43
- Can you literally be scared sick ? 79
- The reputed sense of be meant to 105
- Gradualness in analogical change as a complexification stage in a language simplification process 125
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Part II. Synchronic variation and language change
- Semantic maps, for synchronic and diachronic typology 153
- Synchronic gradience and language change in Latin genitive constructions 177
- Double agreement in the Alpine languages 201
- On variation in gender agreement 237
- Synchronic Variation and Grammatical Change 261
- A case study on the relationship between grammatical change and synchronic variation 283
- Grammaticalization in the present – The changes of modern Swedish typ 313
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Part III. Gradualness in language change
- Gradualness in change in English (augmented) absolutes 341
- Grammatical encoding of referentiality in the history of Hungarian 367
- Gradualness in contact-induced constructional replication 391
- Binding Hierarchy and peculiarities of the verb potere in some Southern Calabrian varieties 419
- Author index 441
- Subject index 447
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of contributors ix
- Synchrony and diachrony 1
-
Part I. The role of analogy and constructions in the synchrony-diachrony interface
- Gradualness in language change 27
- Gradual change and continual variation 43
- Can you literally be scared sick ? 79
- The reputed sense of be meant to 105
- Gradualness in analogical change as a complexification stage in a language simplification process 125
-
Part II. Synchronic variation and language change
- Semantic maps, for synchronic and diachronic typology 153
- Synchronic gradience and language change in Latin genitive constructions 177
- Double agreement in the Alpine languages 201
- On variation in gender agreement 237
- Synchronic Variation and Grammatical Change 261
- A case study on the relationship between grammatical change and synchronic variation 283
- Grammaticalization in the present – The changes of modern Swedish typ 313
-
Part III. Gradualness in language change
- Gradualness in change in English (augmented) absolutes 341
- Grammatical encoding of referentiality in the history of Hungarian 367
- Gradualness in contact-induced constructional replication 391
- Binding Hierarchy and peculiarities of the verb potere in some Southern Calabrian varieties 419
- Author index 441
- Subject index 447
