To dare to or not to
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Julia Schlüter
Abstract
This article revisits the alleged unidirectionality of grammaticalization, focusing on the marginal modal dare, which previous research has discussed as a potential counterexample. Being in its origin a member of the inhomogeneous group of modal auxiliaries, dare has since Early Modern English times developed certain full verb characteristics that would assign it a place near the lexical end of the grammaticalization scale. This study provides detailed corpus data, yielding a complex picture that defies an easy localization of dare on the lexical – grammatical scale: different verb forms of dare have to be distinguished, which appear to occupy different stages of evolution or even tend to drift into opposite directions. The results furthermore point to cross-cutting influences on the marking of dependent infinitives (rhythm, grammatical complexity).
Abstract
This article revisits the alleged unidirectionality of grammaticalization, focusing on the marginal modal dare, which previous research has discussed as a potential counterexample. Being in its origin a member of the inhomogeneous group of modal auxiliaries, dare has since Early Modern English times developed certain full verb characteristics that would assign it a place near the lexical end of the grammaticalization scale. This study provides detailed corpus data, yielding a complex picture that defies an easy localization of dare on the lexical – grammatical scale: different verb forms of dare have to be distinguished, which appear to occupy different stages of evolution or even tend to drift into opposite directions. The results furthermore point to cross-cutting influences on the marking of dependent infinitives (rhythm, grammatical complexity).
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- On problem areas in grammaticalization 17
- Grammaticalization within and outside of a domain 43
- Delexicalizing di 63
- Should conditionals be emergent … 93
- From manner expression to attitudinal discourse marker 137
- Grammaticalization and lexicalization effects in participial morphology 191
- Frequency as a cause of semantic change 225
- The role of frequency and prosody in the grammaticalization of Korean -canh- 245
- Emergence of the indefinite article 275
- To dare to or not to 289
- Author index 327
- Index of languages and language families 331
- Subject index 333
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- On problem areas in grammaticalization 17
- Grammaticalization within and outside of a domain 43
- Delexicalizing di 63
- Should conditionals be emergent … 93
- From manner expression to attitudinal discourse marker 137
- Grammaticalization and lexicalization effects in participial morphology 191
- Frequency as a cause of semantic change 225
- The role of frequency and prosody in the grammaticalization of Korean -canh- 245
- Emergence of the indefinite article 275
- To dare to or not to 289
- Author index 327
- Index of languages and language families 331
- Subject index 333
