Measurements of Grammaticalization: Developing a Quantitative Index for the Study of Grammatical Change

David Correia Saavedra

Published by De Gruyter Mouton 2021

Measurements of Grammaticalization

Developing a Quantitative Index for the Study of Grammatical Change

David Correia Saavedra

Volume 366 in the series Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs [TiLSM]

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110753073

Overview
Contents

About this book

Grammaticalization has often been described as a gradual phenomenon. While many studies have discussed the quantitative aspects of grammaticalization, there has been little to no work that has tried to propose a way of measuring degrees of grammaticalization. This book addresses this gap by proposing a corpus-based approach to the measurement of grammaticalization, using binary logistic regression modelling.

Such an approach has theoretical benefits as it can provide empirical evidence for the gradience and gradualness of grammaticalization. It can help substantiate observations that have been done on the basis of case studies so far, such as the hypothesized unidirectionality of grammaticalization. In addition, as the methods proposed in this book rely on corpus-based data only, it offers a way of comparing grammaticalization across multiple languages, which is currently a challenging endeavour.

What this book hopes to achieve is to start a discussion on the measurement of grammaticalization. To draw a parallel, the field of morphological productivity has greatly benefited from the discussions (and disputes) regarding how its object of study should be measured, and I believe that so will the field of grammaticalization.

Author / Editor information

David Correia Saavedra, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Why did I write this book? Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
1 Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2 Theoretical background Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
3 Grammaticalization parameters quantified Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	40
4 Data and methods Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
5 Quantifying grammaticalization in synchrony Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
6 Diachronic study Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	130
7 Conclusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	182
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Appendices
Appendix A Database Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Appendix B Random samples for classification data (chapter 6) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
Appendix C Additional figures (chapter 6) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
Audience: Scholars interested in Grammaticalization, Quantitative Linguistics, Linguistic Typology, Construction Grammar, English.
Pages
- Front matter: 12
- Main content: 246
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 21
- Tables: 44
Keywords: Grammaticalization; Gradience; Gradualness

eBook

Published: October 25, 2021
ISBN: 9783110753073

Hardcover

Published: October 25, 2021
ISBN: 9783110752946