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Chapter 12. On the emergence of auxiliary selection in Germanic

  • Ida Larsson
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The Perfect Volume
This chapter is in the book The Perfect Volume

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the development of auxiliary selection in Germanic, i.e. the alternation between have and be in perfects depending on the type of lexical verb. It is argued that all of the Germanic languages first develop a perfect of the modern English type, with have as the only auxiliary used with all types of verbs. This early Germanic have-perfect disallowed positional past time adverbials in the present perfect, and perfect doubling (see Larsson & Brandner to appear). In a later development, German, Dutch, and Danish developed a new perfect with auxiliary selection, a more extended use of the present perfect, and perfect doubling. It is suggested that this development is a consequence of the further grammaticalization of the auxiliary into a semantically weaker element, spelled out as either have or be (cf. Kayne 1993). The emergence of the new perfect leads to competition between two types of perfects, and to a gradual spread of the new perfect which can be observed in the historical records.

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the development of auxiliary selection in Germanic, i.e. the alternation between have and be in perfects depending on the type of lexical verb. It is argued that all of the Germanic languages first develop a perfect of the modern English type, with have as the only auxiliary used with all types of verbs. This early Germanic have-perfect disallowed positional past time adverbials in the present perfect, and perfect doubling (see Larsson & Brandner to appear). In a later development, German, Dutch, and Danish developed a new perfect with auxiliary selection, a more extended use of the present perfect, and perfect doubling. It is suggested that this development is a consequence of the further grammaticalization of the auxiliary into a semantically weaker element, spelled out as either have or be (cf. Kayne 1993). The emergence of the new perfect leads to competition between two types of perfects, and to a gradual spread of the new perfect which can be observed in the historical records.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. The perfect volume 1
  4. Part I. Perfects and their relatives
  5. Chapter 2. “Universal” readings of perfects and iamitives in typological perspective 43
  6. Chapter 3. Perfect and its relatives in Atayal 65
  7. Chapter 4. Structural and functional variations of the perfect in the Lezgic languages 87
  8. Chapter 5. Cross-linguistic parallels and contrasts in a contact language perfect construction 117
  9. Chapter 6. Perfect and negation 137
  10. Chapter 7. The diachrony of the perfect in Zapotec 163
  11. Part II. Perfect extensions, hodiernality and aoristic drift
  12. Chapter 8. More on hodiernality 181
  13. Chapter 9. The impact of the simultaneity vector on the temporal-aspectual development of the perfect tense in Romance languages 213
  14. Chapter 10. Gauging expansion in synchrony 241
  15. Part III. Morphology of perfects
  16. Chapter 11. The rise of the periphrastic perfect tense in the continental West Germanic languages 261
  17. Chapter 12. On the emergence of auxiliary selection in Germanic 291
  18. Chapter 13. Language contact and competition in the periphrastic perfect in Early English 319
  19. Chapter 14. The Swedish perfect and periphrasis 343
  20. Chapter 15. “ Have -less perfects” in Norwegian 365
  21. Chapter 16. From have -omission to supercompounds 397
  22. Chapter 17. Auxiliary reduction in secondary grammaticalization 439
  23. Chapter 18. The functions of the auxiliary ‘have’ in Australian English vivid narratives 461
  24. Index 479
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.217.12lar

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. The perfect volume 1
  4. Part I. Perfects and their relatives
  5. Chapter 2. “Universal” readings of perfects and iamitives in typological perspective 43
  6. Chapter 3. Perfect and its relatives in Atayal 65
  7. Chapter 4. Structural and functional variations of the perfect in the Lezgic languages 87
  8. Chapter 5. Cross-linguistic parallels and contrasts in a contact language perfect construction 117
  9. Chapter 6. Perfect and negation 137
  10. Chapter 7. The diachrony of the perfect in Zapotec 163
  11. Part II. Perfect extensions, hodiernality and aoristic drift
  12. Chapter 8. More on hodiernality 181
  13. Chapter 9. The impact of the simultaneity vector on the temporal-aspectual development of the perfect tense in Romance languages 213
  14. Chapter 10. Gauging expansion in synchrony 241
  15. Part III. Morphology of perfects
  16. Chapter 11. The rise of the periphrastic perfect tense in the continental West Germanic languages 261
  17. Chapter 12. On the emergence of auxiliary selection in Germanic 291
  18. Chapter 13. Language contact and competition in the periphrastic perfect in Early English 319
  19. Chapter 14. The Swedish perfect and periphrasis 343
  20. Chapter 15. “ Have -less perfects” in Norwegian 365
  21. Chapter 16. From have -omission to supercompounds 397
  22. Chapter 17. Auxiliary reduction in secondary grammaticalization 439
  23. Chapter 18. The functions of the auxiliary ‘have’ in Australian English vivid narratives 461
  24. Index 479
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