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The co-evolution of syntactic and pragmatic complexity

Diachronic and cross-linguistic aspects of pseudoclefts
  • Christian Koops and Martin Hilpert
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Syntactic Complexity
This chapter is in the book Syntactic Complexity

Abstract

This chapter examines the diachronic rise of a syntactically and pragmatically complex construction type: pseudoclefts. Given that cleft constructions combine available components of grammar — relative clauses and copular clauses — do they arise in full-fledged form? If they emerge gradually, what constrains their development? We first present a corpus-based analysis of the history of English pseudoclefts and develop qualitative and quantitative measures to identify properties of pseudoclefts at different developmental stages. We then apply the same measures of grammaticalization in a synchronic comparison of pseudoclefts in contemporary spoken and written German, Swedish, and English in order to test their cross-linguistic validity. We find that pseudoclefts develop gradually in a process driven by the pragmatic exploitation of their presuppositional structure (Lambrecht 1994).

Abstract

This chapter examines the diachronic rise of a syntactically and pragmatically complex construction type: pseudoclefts. Given that cleft constructions combine available components of grammar — relative clauses and copular clauses — do they arise in full-fledged form? If they emerge gradually, what constrains their development? We first present a corpus-based analysis of the history of English pseudoclefts and develop qualitative and quantitative measures to identify properties of pseudoclefts at different developmental stages. We then apply the same measures of grammaticalization in a synchronic comparison of pseudoclefts in contemporary spoken and written German, Swedish, and English in order to test their cross-linguistic validity. We find that pseudoclefts develop gradually in a process driven by the pragmatic exploitation of their presuppositional structure (Lambrecht 1994).

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Diachrony
  5. From nominal to clausal morphosyntax 23
  6. Re(e)volving complexity 53
  7. Multiple routes to clause union 81
  8. On the origins of serial verb constructions in Kalam 119
  9. A quantitative approach to the development of complex predicates 145
  10. Elements of complex structures, where recursion isn’t 163
  11. Nominalization and the origin of subordination 199
  12. The co-evolution of syntactic and pragmatic complexity 215
  13. Two pathways of grammatical evolution 239
  14. Part II. Child language
  15. On the role of frequency and similarity in the acquisition of subject and non-subject relative clauses 251
  16. ‘ Starting small ’ effects in the acquisition of early relative constructions in Spanish 277
  17. The ontogeny of complex verb phrases 311
  18. Part III. Cognition and neurology
  19. Syntactic complexity versus concatenation in a verbal production task 391
  20. The emergence of linguistic complexity 405
  21. Cognitive and neural underpinnings of syntactic complexity 433
  22. Neural mechanisms of recursive processing in cognitive and linguistic complexity 461
  23. Syntactic complexity in the brain 491
  24. Part IV. Biology and evolution
  25. Neural plasticity 509
  26. Recursion 531
  27. Index 545
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.85.09the

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Diachrony
  5. From nominal to clausal morphosyntax 23
  6. Re(e)volving complexity 53
  7. Multiple routes to clause union 81
  8. On the origins of serial verb constructions in Kalam 119
  9. A quantitative approach to the development of complex predicates 145
  10. Elements of complex structures, where recursion isn’t 163
  11. Nominalization and the origin of subordination 199
  12. The co-evolution of syntactic and pragmatic complexity 215
  13. Two pathways of grammatical evolution 239
  14. Part II. Child language
  15. On the role of frequency and similarity in the acquisition of subject and non-subject relative clauses 251
  16. ‘ Starting small ’ effects in the acquisition of early relative constructions in Spanish 277
  17. The ontogeny of complex verb phrases 311
  18. Part III. Cognition and neurology
  19. Syntactic complexity versus concatenation in a verbal production task 391
  20. The emergence of linguistic complexity 405
  21. Cognitive and neural underpinnings of syntactic complexity 433
  22. Neural mechanisms of recursive processing in cognitive and linguistic complexity 461
  23. Syntactic complexity in the brain 491
  24. Part IV. Biology and evolution
  25. Neural plasticity 509
  26. Recursion 531
  27. Index 545
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