Grammar in context: On the role of hypercharacterization in language variation and change
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María José López-Couso
Abstract
Hypercharacterization (Lehmann 2005) or accretion (Kuteva 2008) is a widely attested cross-linguistic phenomenon which involves the accumulation of apparently “redundant” linguistic material in the marking of one category within the same structure. In this study I examine a number of cases of structural hypercharacterization in the history of English, focusing on the domain of syntax and paying attention to the motivations and functions of hypercharacterized forms and constructions. The selected case studies include the development of “strengthened” adverbial subordinators (e.g. for because, like as if), the occurrence of resumptive pronouns in subject extraction contexts, and the use of socalled “double-locative overlap constructions” and their relevance for the grammaticalization of existential there. These three examples show that hypercharacterization is interesting not only in and of itself, but also because of its great significance for language variation and language change.
Abstract
Hypercharacterization (Lehmann 2005) or accretion (Kuteva 2008) is a widely attested cross-linguistic phenomenon which involves the accumulation of apparently “redundant” linguistic material in the marking of one category within the same structure. In this study I examine a number of cases of structural hypercharacterization in the history of English, focusing on the domain of syntax and paying attention to the motivations and functions of hypercharacterized forms and constructions. The selected case studies include the development of “strengthened” adverbial subordinators (e.g. for because, like as if), the occurrence of resumptive pronouns in subject extraction contexts, and the use of socalled “double-locative overlap constructions” and their relevance for the grammaticalization of existential there. These three examples show that hypercharacterization is interesting not only in and of itself, but also because of its great significance for language variation and language change.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of tables and figures VII
- Grammar – discourse – context: Grammatical variation and change and the usage-based perspective 1
- Contextualizing Old English noun phrases 15
- Syntax, text type, genre and authorial voice in Old English: A data-driven approach 49
- The intensifier system of the Ormulum and the interplay of micro-level and macro-level contexts in linguistic change 93
- Constructional change across the lifespan: The nominative and infinitive in early modern writers 125
- Contextualizing dual-form adverbs in the Old Bailey Corpus: An assessment of semantic, pragmatic, and sociolinguistic factors 157
- Bridging contexts in the reanalysis of naturally as a sentence adverb: A corpus study 191
- From parataxis to amalgamation: The emergence of the sentence-final is all construction in the history of American English 221
- The role of context in the entrenchment of new grammatical markers in World Englishes 249
- Paradigms, host classes, and ancillariness: A comparison of three approaches to grammatical status 277
- The motivated unmotivated: Variation, function and context 305
- Grammar in context: On the role of hypercharacterization in language variation and change 333
- List of contributors 365
- Index 367
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of tables and figures VII
- Grammar – discourse – context: Grammatical variation and change and the usage-based perspective 1
- Contextualizing Old English noun phrases 15
- Syntax, text type, genre and authorial voice in Old English: A data-driven approach 49
- The intensifier system of the Ormulum and the interplay of micro-level and macro-level contexts in linguistic change 93
- Constructional change across the lifespan: The nominative and infinitive in early modern writers 125
- Contextualizing dual-form adverbs in the Old Bailey Corpus: An assessment of semantic, pragmatic, and sociolinguistic factors 157
- Bridging contexts in the reanalysis of naturally as a sentence adverb: A corpus study 191
- From parataxis to amalgamation: The emergence of the sentence-final is all construction in the history of American English 221
- The role of context in the entrenchment of new grammatical markers in World Englishes 249
- Paradigms, host classes, and ancillariness: A comparison of three approaches to grammatical status 277
- The motivated unmotivated: Variation, function and context 305
- Grammar in context: On the role of hypercharacterization in language variation and change 333
- List of contributors 365
- Index 367
