Grammaticalization and prosody: The case of English sort/kind/type of constructions (original) (raw)

Cyclicity versus movement: English nominalization and syntactic approaches to morpho-phonological regularity

Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique, 2016

In this paper, I show that Embick's (2010) cyclic head approach to regular morphology alone cannot account for the freely available variations in the realization of nominalizers in English nominalizations involving overt verbalizers. Instead, I offer an account of the regularity effects using the technology of Local Dislocation (Embick and Noyer 2001, Embick and Marantz 2008, Embick 2007a, 2007b). Using this analysis, I derive both the variable nominalization patterns and the restrictions on particles and results in derived nominals from Sichel (2010). By treating regularity as the by-product of extant morphosyntatic operations, we can better explain the distribution of regular and irregular nominalizers and account for particle/result restrictions in English derived nominals.

Introduction: The pace of grammaticalization in a typological perspective

Folia Linguistica, 2000

A grammaticalization process, by which an item shifts from lexicon to grammar, is by definition a cline or a continuum. Consequently, items undergoing grammaticalization processes can occupy different positions on the cline between its two extremes. The main claim we want to argue for in this thematic issue is that the same idea of gradation can be extended to language typology, by showing that, within a language family, comparable grammaticalization phenomena can be at the outset or on-going in one language and have reached a stage further down the cline in another language, or even that grammaticalization phenomena present in one language may be absent in the other one. Thus, with respect to Romance, several authors, such as

Morphological theory and English

This paper presents a review of a number of recent issues in the field of generative morphology, with their implications for the description of English. After an introduction to the field two types of question are considered. First, 1 examine the nature of word structure and illustrate two competing approaches, one of which assurnes that words have a constituent structure (much like the phrase structure of syntax) and the other of which rejects this assumption. Then we look at the way morphologicai structure interacts with syntax. We examine the extent to which syntactic principles can account for the behaviour of certain types of compounds and aiso the expression of syntactic arguments in nominaiizations.

The gradual coalescence into" words" in grammaticalization1

2 One reason for preferring coalescence to agglutination for the diachronic process is that the latter is more commonly used for a synchronic type.(And see Haspelmath (2009) for serious doubts concerning the coherence of “agglutination” as a typological concept, at least as traditionally understood. The traditional ingredients of “agglutination”, lack of stem alternation, lack of cumulation, and lack of affix suppletion, do not seem to be significantly correlated.)

Studies in the history of the English language: A millennial perspective. Edited by Donka Minkova and Robert Stockwell. (Topics in English Linguistics 39.) Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2002. Pp. vi, 496. Hardcover. €98.00

Journal of Germanic Linguistics, 2003

This book, which was written as a Habilitationsschrift, began as a study of the so-called Saxon genitive (prenominal genitive) in German, but has come to encompass all the diachronic changes that have occurred in the German nominal system, especially to the left of the noun. The study attempts to give a synchronic analysis of the relationships within the noun phrase from a diachronic perspective. Moreover, data from other Germanic languages are taken into account, especially from English and the Scandinavian languages. All the changes in the German NP are attributed by Demske to a single change in the relationship between articles and nouns, from semantic to a morphologically motivated relationship (320). After the introductory chapter 1, chapter 2 deals with agreement within the nominal system, chapter 3 with possessive pronouns, and chapter 4 with the attributive genitive. The book concludes with some general implications for diachronic syntax. Chapter 1, "Einleitung," gives an overview of previous analyses of the German nominal system, pointing out some of the problems with the NP analysis. Demske assumes the DP hypothesis, which claims that nominal phrases are not projections of nouns but rather of the functional category D(eterminer). The DP analysis overcomes the limitations of the NP analysis and is especially attractive for German, since case, number, and gender are primarily realized on the article rather than on the noun itself. Chapter 2, "Grammatische Merkmale und Relationen," deals with the marking of the features case, number, gender, and definiteness on nouns, adjectives, and articles. First, Demske outlines the inflectional and agreement properties of the noun phrase in New High German (NHG), especially the problems of adjective inflection. Then she discusses some previous approaches within both the generative and the HPSG (head-driven phrase structure grammar) frameworks. Demske brings historical data from Old High German (OHG) and Early New High German (ENHG) into this discussion.

Ulrich Detges & Richard Waltereit, eds. 2008. The Paradox of Grammatical Change. Perspectives from Romance. (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 293.) Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Folia linguistica 43(1): 251-255., 2009

FOLIA LINGUISTICA is the peer-reviewed journal of the Societas Linguistica Europaea. It appears in Spring and Autumn (ca. 450 pages in all) and covers all nonhistorical areas in the traditional disciplines of general linguistics (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics), and also sociological, discoursal, computational and psychological aspects of language and linguistic theory. Other areas of central concern are grammaticalization and language typology. The journal consists of scientific articles presenting results of original research, review articles, critical surveys of research in specific areas, book reviews, and a miscellanea section carrying brief descriptive reports and discussion notes. Manuscript submission: Please consult the FoL style sheet (to be found at the FoL homepage www.folialinguistica.com).