What can synchronic gradience tell us about reanalysis?
-
Martin Hilpert
Abstract
This paper discusses verb-first conditionals (Had I known this, I would have stayed at home) with regard to the hypothesis that the construction developed from a dialogual sequence into a hypotactic structure. While plausible, independent evidence for this scenario has been scarce. An alternative account posits that questions could have been analogized with existing conditional clause types, making it possible for speakers to use questions as conditional protases. The present study assesses these two hypotheses on the basis of present-day corpus data from German and Swedish. Crucial to this approach is the notion that a reanalyzed structure retains aspects of its original source. Put simply, if the protasis of a verb-first conditional developed out of a question, it should retain some question-like characteristics, even after reanalysis. Further, if verb-first conditionals have become grammaticalized more strongly in one language than in another, the less-grammaticalized construction should display more question-like characteristics.
Abstract
This paper discusses verb-first conditionals (Had I known this, I would have stayed at home) with regard to the hypothesis that the construction developed from a dialogual sequence into a hypotactic structure. While plausible, independent evidence for this scenario has been scarce. An alternative account posits that questions could have been analogized with existing conditional clause types, making it possible for speakers to use questions as conditional protases. The present study assesses these two hypotheses on the basis of present-day corpus data from German and Swedish. Crucial to this approach is the notion that a reanalyzed structure retains aspects of its original source. Put simply, if the protasis of a verb-first conditional developed out of a question, it should retain some question-like characteristics, even after reanalysis. Further, if verb-first conditionals have become grammaticalized more strongly in one language than in another, the less-grammaticalized construction should display more question-like characteristics.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Preface 1
- Gradience, gradualness and grammaticalization 19
- Grammaticalization, the clausal hierarchy and semantic bleaching 45
- Grammatical interference 75
- Category change in English with and without structural change 105
- Features in reanalysis and grammaticalization 129
- How synchronic gradience makes sense in the light of language change (and vice versa) 149
- What can synchronic gradience tell us about reanalysis? 181
- A paradigmatic approach to language and language change 203
- Grammaticalization and the it-cleft construction 221
- Grammaticalization in Chinese 245
- Grammaticalization and models of language 279
- Language index 301
- Subject index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Preface 1
- Gradience, gradualness and grammaticalization 19
- Grammaticalization, the clausal hierarchy and semantic bleaching 45
- Grammatical interference 75
- Category change in English with and without structural change 105
- Features in reanalysis and grammaticalization 129
- How synchronic gradience makes sense in the light of language change (and vice versa) 149
- What can synchronic gradience tell us about reanalysis? 181
- A paradigmatic approach to language and language change 203
- Grammaticalization and the it-cleft construction 221
- Grammaticalization in Chinese 245
- Grammaticalization and models of language 279
- Language index 301
- Subject index 303
