Language Change at the Syntax-Semantics Interface

by Chiara Gianollo (Editor), Agnes Jäger (Editor), Doris Penka (Editor)

Overview

Bringing together diachronic research from a variety of perspectives, notably typology, formal syntax and semantics, this volume focuses on the interplay of syntactic and semantic factors in language change - an issue so far largely neglected both in (mostly lexical) historical semantics as well as historical syntax, but recently brought into focus by grammaticalization theory as well as Minimalist diachronic syntax. The contributions draw on data from numerous Indo-European languages including Vedic Sanskrit, Middle Indic, Greek as well as English and German, and discuss a range of phenomena such as change in negation markers, indefinite articles, quantifiers, modal verbs, argument structure among others. The papers analyze diachronic evidence in the light of contemporary syntactic and semantic theory, addressing the crucial question of how syntactic and semantic change are linked, and whether both are governed by similar constraints, principles and systematic mechanisms. The volume will appeal to scholars in historical linguistics and formal theories of syntax and semantics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783110488074
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	06/20/2016
Series:	Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs [TiLSM] , #278
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	366
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.06(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Chiara Gianollo and Agnes Jäger, Universityät zu Köln, Germany; Doris Penka, Universityät Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.

Table of Contents

Preface and acknowledgements v

1 Language change at the syntax-semantics interface. Perspectives and Challenges Chiara Gianollo Agnes Jager Doris Penka 1

2 Semantic and formal features: Feature economy in language Elly van Gelderen 33

3 Unking syntax and semantics of adnominal possession in the history of German Simon Kasper 57

4 Most historically Remus Gergel 101

5 The "indefinite article" from cardinal to operator to expletive Paola Crisma 125

6 The Greek Septuagint and language change at the syntax-semantics interface: from null to "pleonastic" object pronouns Nikolaos Lavidas 153

7 The agreement of collective nouns in the history of Ancient Greek German Magnus Breder Birkenes Florian Sommer 183

8 Vedic local particles at the syntax-semantics interface Antje Casaretto Carolin Schneider 223

9 Aspect shifts in Indo-Aryan and trajectories of semantic change Cleo Condoravdi Ashwini Deo 261

10 The development of conditional should in English Anne Breitbarth 293

11 The Greek Jespersen's cycle: Renewal, stability and structural microelevation Katerina Chatzopoulou 323

Subject index 355