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The history of either as a clause-final, right-periphery marker has seen little intensive research, apart from a few isolated studies such as Rullmann (2002) and Gast (2013). This is surprising, given the recent interest in parenthetical discourse items and the controversies surrounding their development (grammaticalization vs. pragmaticalization, and other debates). In the present study, it is first questioned whether right-periphery either (RP -either) could be categorized as a bona fide example of a discourse marker, and second, how a hypothesis emerged that 18th and 19th century prescriptivism motivated its sudden shift to become a post-negation, clause-final item, replacing the now non-standard, right-periphery neither (e.g. Jespersen 1917, Fitzmaurice and Smith 2012). The present study builds on the previous accounts, suggesting that the use of either as a clause-final additive focus marker had grammaticalized from a resumptive quantifier, post-posed in apposition and gradually renovating the former functions of clause-final neither in strong negative polarity contexts by a process of grammaticalization following co-optation (Heine 2013). The social stigmatization of right-periphery neither (RP- neither) as an example of negative concord at the time must therefore have been due simply to its resulting association with recessive, dialectal or non-standard usage, as RP -either rapidly increased its earlier range of functions to take over those of the ousted RP- neither in strong negative polarity contexts during the 19th century. • Explains the functional generalization of a right-periphery marker across 3 centuries. • Provides an alternative account to the prescriptivist hypothesis of the 19th century. • Demonstrates a process of renovation or renewal in the grammaticalization of focus markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main concern of this paper is with two constructions that are based on the Modern Chinese phrase wo xiang ‘I think’. They are prosodically-dependent wo xiang that takes a question, an imperative, an exclamation or a conjectural clause (referred to as W1) and prosodically-independent wo xiang that takes a question, an imperative, an exclamation or a conjectural clause (referred to as W2). By contrasting phonetic and morphosyntactic properties of the two constructions, the paper takes issue with the widely accepted hypothesis (which assumes a W1 > W2 derivation) and argues that W1 is derived from W2, and that this derivational relationship can best be accounted for by using grammaticalization as a tool of reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past half century, the versatile nature of demonstratives across languages has increasingly attracted attention in language typology. The present study contributes to this research agenda by examining the grammaticalisation pathways of two distal demonstratives in the Lobr dialect of Dagaare (Niger-Congo: Gur), namely, n ɛ , an adnominal demonstrative, and l ɛ , a pronominal demonstrative. The analysis reveals that the adnominal demonstrative n ɛ first got reanalysed as an identifying copula verb and, subsequently fused with third person pronouns, ʋ and a , to derive identifying pronouns, n ʋ and na respectively. Further, the identifying pronouns n ʋ and na fused with the attributive copula ι to derive the focus particle nι. The identifying pronoun na has also been reanalysed into an affirmative final particle. On the other hand, the pronominal demonstrative l ɛ first developed into a scalar demonstrative determiner and then into an intensifier. Subsequently, the scalar demonstrative determiner evolved into a copula, which fused with third person pronouns ʋ , a and b ɛ to derive the emphatic counterparts of these pronouns, comprising ʋ l ɛ , al ɛ and b ɛ l ɛ respectively. These are further cliticised and have evolved into adnominal demonstratives and then postnominal focus particles. These grammaticalisation trajectories contribute to a finer-grained and richer account of the diachrony and typology of demonstratives, including the substantivizing role of morpho-phonemic fusion on the development of grammaticalisation chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the process of subjectification by focusing on discursive strategy in the grammaticalization of the Japanese connective datte ‘but/because’. It is found that datte shifted its meaning from ‘but’ to ‘because’ because it increasingly came to be used with justifications in new contexts of argumentative discourse. In the course of its development, the co-occurrence of an explanatory expression, such as – kara ‘because’, also increased, which further contributed to the entrenchment of the explanatory meaning. It is argued that the preference organization of conversation, which leads participants of conversation to avoid or mitigate face-threatening actions, motivated the semantic change from concessivity to causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstructions of the languages spoken by first modern humans based on grammaticalization theory rely on the assumption that the involved cognitive capacities and the motivations for grammaticalizing a language were the same in the past as today. Nonetheless, subtle changes in the brain and in behaviour have occurred during recent human history that might have affected early grammaticalization processes. Comparative studies in the domains of animal cognition, paleogenomics, and cognitive disease can help discern the consequences of these changes and ultimately, refine our view of the dynamics followed by language change in the remote history of our species and of the nature of early prehistoric languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on nouns of measurement and the multifaceted processes that they are susceptible to undergo. It spotlights the Russian prepositional phrase po mere , lit. 'by measure', which originally held a compositional meaning referring to size measurement but has shifted towards a relator function as a temporal preposition marking simultaneity. The paper unravels the grammaticalization mechanisms behind this development by tracing across three centuries the constructional change, the entrenchment of the new temporal function and its eventual dominance over the older uses, based on the Russian National Corpus data. • Measure nouns are crosslinguistically associated with various 'ization' processes. • These may hinge upon both profiling and backgrounding of measure-related semantics. • Russian po mere has developed a relator function marking temporal similarity. • The grammaticalization mechanisms behind this development are examined. • A surge in the new temporal use was counterbalanced by a drop in older uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of discourse relations in the emergence of English semi-auxiliaries of the type be in the NP1 of NP2 / V -ing expressing progressivity, for example in I was in the middle of washing my hair . On the basis of Old, Middle and Modern English corpus data, I will (i) reconstruct the path of change from partitive binominal construction over complex preposition in the middle/midst of NP2 to progressive semi-auxiliary and (ii) explore how step-by-step changes in the discourse-functional features of the NP2s shape this development. More specifically, I will show that event NP2s in the intermediate complex preposition and nominal aspectualizer stages offer the pragmatic choice of encapsulating or summarizing the information previously mentioned in a compact way and that this discourse-functional flexibility of the binominal source constructions proves to be a prerequisite for the emergence of the aspectual semi-auxiliary. On the basis of this case study, I will argue that discourse-functional factors have to be taken into account to adequately explain the processes of change originating in binominal source constructions, even if the output or target construction of the development is in itself not a discourse-organizing marker, as is the case in the history of the progressive aspectualizer be in the middle/midst of V -ing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the framework of grammaticalization, analogy is usually considered as a precondition for change. One of the hotly debated topics is its status as a mechanism or a motivation for change. The present paper aims to investigate the role of analogy in the development of Spanish binominal quantifiers and zooms in on the histories of seven quantifying nouns, viz., aluvión, barbaridad, (h)atajo, letanía, mar, montón and pila . The distinct nature of the developmental pathways followed tones down the triggering force or coercing impact of rather schematic constructions. Analogy is operationalized as a two-dimensional process: a clear distinction is made between paradigmatic analogical thinking (which motivates change) and syntagmatic analogical thinking (which also constrains change and interacts with conceptual persistence). In addition, analogical mechanisms are at work both construction-internally and construction-externally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While a fair share of attention has recently been devoted to the grammaticalization process of size nouns in general (see Traugott, 2008) and individual case studies in particular (see Brems, 2003; Verveckken, 2012; De Clerck & Colleman 2011), there is still enough food for thought and room for further analysis. In this paper we want to address two aspects that have not received sufficient attention so far. First, we will focus on grammaticalized uses of yet two other size nouns (SNs), i.e. mass of and masses of and compare their quantificational potential with other SNs, such as bunch , heap and load of as studied in Brems (2011). This comparison will call for a repositioning of SNs on the grammaticalization cline and a reassessment of the criteria used in Brems (2011) and the notion of degree of grammaticalization. Secondly, we will shift attention away from ‘common’ quantifying uses to intensifying adverbial uses of SNs, e.g. heaps nicer , and the possible effect these uses have on their current position on the grammaticalization cline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binominal constructions with originally taxonomic nouns such English sort , kind and type show a great variety of weakly grammaticalized uses. The aim of this paper is to establish a classification of the different subtypes of these binominals in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish on the basis of C-ORAL-ROM, a comparative Romance corpus of oral data and other corpora, and to try and explain the links between the different construction types. The syntax and semantics of these binominals in four genetically related languages show that approximator uses of type nouns which are cognates of species are the most strongly grammaticalized binominals, although less grammaticalized than the English equivalents sort and kind . Other functions such as postdeterminer uses rather tend to be expressed by the cognates of type , much more recent taxonomic nouns. These functions arise very easily due to the ambiguity of type-noun constructions between type and instance readings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overview of the syntax, semantics, and prosody of the discourse -ass construction in African American English, as in get all that ugly-ass junk out of here . This construction involves attributive modification in which a noun or adjective (called the associate ) forms a constituent with the word ass and modifies a head noun. The paper describes the syntactic distribution of both the associate and the word ass . Arguments are presented that support an analysis in which -ass is not a nominal but a functional head that categorizes its sister as adjectival, similar to -ish and -y in mainstream English. Semantically, it is argued that discourse -ass is an expressive in the sense of Potts (2007b): it is “semantically bleached” (Spears, 1998), and its semantic contribution is not truth conditional. The paper shows how discourse -ass has the properties associated with expressives as articulated by Potts (2007b) and as first observed about the construction in Spears (1998). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely accepted that subjectification and intersubjectification are important processes of semantic change accompanying grammaticalization. However, typical changes of subjectification concern early stages of grammaticalization, and the role of subjectification and intersubjectification in late stages of grammaticalization is not yet fully explored. In this paper, I am looking for (1) regular changes other than (inter)subjectification in secondary grammaticalizations, and (2) counter-examples to the hypothesized directionalities of change. In doing so, I mainly look at the development of core case marking, at the development of elements with textual functions, and at presumptive counter-examples from other areas of grammar that have been proposed in the literature. I conclude that (1) the evolution of textual/discourse-functions is a significant development not captured in the canonical (inter-)subjectification scenario both in terms of concept and in terms of directionality, and (2) that de-subjectification and de-intersubjectification in terms of expressive (inter)subjectivity regularly takes place at later stages of grammaticalization. However, this de-(inter)subjectification mainly accompanies the development of highly paradigmatic and abstract meanings, and concerns a loss of subjectivity in terms of expressiveness. On the other hand, since meanings are increasingly appropriated for the expression of speaker-deixis and internal reasoning, the overall directionality of change can still be understood as speaker-, hearer- and text-orientation, and it might not be appropriate to label the overall development as ‘de-subjectification’ or ‘objectification’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues in favor of the definition of secondary grammaticalization as a separate grammaticalization process. It is suggested that secondary grammaticalization should be restricted to its original conception presented in Givón (1991), and it is this idea of secondary grammaticalization that allows for some relevant empirical and theoretical insights. From a constructional point of view, a distinction between constructionalization and constructional changes is introduced, whereby a grammaticalization process is conceptualized as a sequence of constructionalization and specific constructional changes. The concept of constructionalization is relevant to detect the initiation of a change. Constructional changes that follow make sure that a new construction is involved in a grammaticalization process. Two case studies from German serve to illustrate the model. The discussion will show that, first, secondary grammaticalization may start from different points in an ongoing process of (primary, earlier) grammaticalization, and does not require this process to be completed. Second, it will be suggested that secondary grammaticalization, though displaying universal regularities, heavily hinges on language-dependent factors, as similar processes in different languages may not equally qualify as secondary grammaticalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary grammaticalization is often intuitively defined as grammaticalization with an already grammatical item as input. This paper investigates the question whether secondary grammaticalization is also characterized by different subprocesses of change, with the aim of refining our understanding of the notion. Based on a survey of case studies of secondary grammaticalization from the literature, it is proposed that there are in fact two types of changes that have a grammatical input: one in which the development of a new grammatical function goes together with morphosyntactic reconfiguration, which is true secondary grammaticalization in the sense of Givón (1991), and one in which there is a semantico-functional change in which the grammatical input item sheds earlier pragmatic and subjective connotations and becomes an obligatory grammatical marker. The latter development is more appropriately analysed as an extension within the original grammaticalization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims at testing four criteria for the distinction between primary vs. secondary grammaticalization in East and mainland Southeast Asian languages. These languages are of special interest for research on grammaticalization because they show limitations in the coevolution of meaning and form and because pragmatic inference is very prominent (lack of obligatory grammatical markers, multifunctionality). If the four criteria work in these languages, this can be taken as a good indicator for their cross-linguistic, maybe universal relevance. The criteria are tested with three markers that stand for three different types of multifunctionality: (i) the Khmer verb baːn ‘come to have’ as a marker of various tense–aspect–modality functions, (ii) the Khmer verb ʔaoy ‘give’ in its functions of an adposition (coverb), causative marker, adverbial subordinator and complementizer and (iii) numeral classifiers as markers of definiteness as well as indefiniteness. As will be shown, the four criteria offer a mixed picture and even yield some contradictory results as far as the distinction of primary vs. secondary grammaticalization is concerned. This will lead to the final question of whether one has to reckon with areal differences in the properties of grammaticalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we look at a case of secondary grammaticalization in English which entails the development of originally adverbial subordinators into complement-clause connectives. The study systematizes our earlier findings regarding the adverbial links but , if , though , lest , as if , as though , and like , which over time have come to realize a subsidiary function as equivalents (or near-equivalents) of the major declarative complementizers that and zero in certain specific contexts. We show that minor declarative complementizers are typically associated with the expression of subjectivity and irreality. As such, they are usually attested in complementation structures in which subjectivity is also at hand (e.g. they are complements to specific predicate-types occurring in non-assertive environments). The development discussed here illustrates grammaticalization both at the level of clause links and at the level of clause-combining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wide variety of semantic–pragmatic processes have been linked to grammaticalization, such as pragmatic enrichment (Hopper and Traugott, 2003) and the loss of pragmatic meaning (Heine and Reh, 1984). As this example shows, not all of these subprocesses are compatible with each other. It therefore makes sense to assume that different subprocesses may be linked to different stages, different input or different output types of grammaticalization processes. In the present paper, various types of changes will be analyzed with respect to the semantic and pragmatic changes that typically accompany them, using mostly examples from English, German and the Romance languages. On this basis, a classification will be proposed, which will support the view that it is fruitful to make a distinction between primary and secondary grammaticalization (i.e. grammaticalization from lexical as opposed to from grammatical sources). Furthermore, the present approach provides further evidence that pragmaticalization should best be seen as its own type of change, rather than as a subtype of grammaticalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the secondary grammaticalization of the English adverbial -ly suffix and makes claims about the concept of secondary grammaticalization. Secondary grammaticalization is defined as the development of a new grammatical function in an already grammatical element. It is shown that the development of the -ly suffix involves a number of the processes which are associated with grammaticalization, e.g. paradigmatization, specialization, obligatorification, subjectification, layering and persistence. However, none of these processes seem to be exclusive to secondary grammaticalization, as the process is defined here. It is argued that the concept of grammaticalization should be redefined, and some possible definitions are suggested. It is also suggested that future studies should divide grammaticalization processes into types according to the nature of the target element, as suggested by Kranich (this issue). Such an approach may perhaps uncover categorical differences between different types of grammaticalization processes. Another important claim is that the concept of obligatoriness should include both language internal obligatoriness and communicative obligatoriness, where the latter also includes socially determined obligatoriness. Further, the concept of paradigmaticity should include the opposition of social variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is an attempt to explain the historical development of person markers in Japanese by means of Kellerian linguistic signs. It begins by assessing two recent papers by Heine and Song that use grammaticalisation theory as a tool to account for personal pronouns. Due to their rich semantic content, Japanese person markers belong to the open class and thus are not compatible with the concept of grammaticalisation. It will be demonstrated that three types of linguistic signs (symptomatic, iconic, and symbolic) and their use can shed light on the rise and development of Japanese person markers. The deployment of linguistic signs creates systematic pathways whose endpoint is the establishment of symbolic communication. The focus of the paper is to demonstrate how person markers concur with the mechanisms of linguistic signs and how social/interpersonal information is conveyed through this communicative activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a framework capable of analysing modal qualifications coded by both canonical modal markers and grammaticalized expressions within a semiotic grammar approach (McGregor, 1997). We focus on grammatical constructions that developed from complement constructions containing the shell nouns need , way , chance , doubt , question and wonder , often preceded by a negative quantifier. We range the different types of modal qualification in a hierarchy. The top half subsumes mirativity and epistemic modality, which scope over propositions, and interpersonal deontic modality, which scopes over processes. The bottom half contains representational deontic and dynamic modality, which are internal to the proposition. We also address the neglected issue of the presence of polarity choices in the modal qualifications and in the propositions and processes. In particular, we argue that epistemic modality ascribes inherently positive degrees of likelihood to either positive or negative propositions, thus assessing the probability of occurrence versus non-occurrence of temporally located processes. This allows us to explain not only the semantic equivalence involved in NEG-raising, as in I think he did nothing wrong and I don't think he did anything wrong , but also, more broadly, between pairs like there's no chance she will cry and there's no doubt she will not cry. Finally, the proposed semantic model puts us in a position to propose structural analyses of the interpersonal and representational qualifications of propositions and processes within the broad outlines of McGregor's (1997) Semiotic Grammar. • Shell nouns (chance/doubt/need/way/wonder/question) + complement as source construction for lexical and grammatical meanings. • Further underpinning of two grammaticalization paths of modal meanings: auxiliarization and nucleus-margin reversal of complex sentences. • Account of availability of polarity choices in systems of epistemic, deontic and dynamic modality and in units they apply to. • Account of epistemic modality as ascribing positive degrees of likelihood to either positive or negative proposition. • Interpersonal and representational meanings call for distinct structural analyses, viz. scoping vs. compositional dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative Sensitive Items (NSIs) in Japanese and Korean are words (or expressions) used only in negative contexts. Negative Sensitivity in Japanese and Korean, as in many other languages, is an intricate phenomenon which involves syntactic, semantic and even pragmatic dimensions. Recently there has been a growing interest in the nature of sika-nai ( sika ) ‘only’ in Japanese and pakkey-anhta ( pakkey ) ‘only’ in Korean whose meanings are similar to each other. In relation to this point, this paper treats another similar NSI, hoka-nai ( hoka ) ‘only’ in Japanese, which the previous relevant studies have comparatively neglected. What makes the NSIs in Japanese and Korean further intriguing as an object of inquiry are (i) their synchrony and diachrony, in particular their grammaticalization processes into the NSIs and (ii) their typological and areal linguistic properties. This paper has two goals. The first is to examine how sika/hoka in Japanese and pakkey in Korean are different. In addition, this paper explores how hoka is different from sika and pakkey . In fact, most previous studies treat sika and pakkey as the same expressions. So are sika and hoka . The second goal is to explain what makes the discrepancies between sika , hoka and pakkey . In other words, this study clarifies what theoretical issues bring about these discrepancies. In pursuit of those goals, this paper employs panchronic and cross-linguistic approaches. In particular, this study focuses on the grammaticalization processes into NSIs/postpositional particles of sika , hoka and pakkey . For this reason, this study is entirely different from the past ones, in that it explains the linguistic differences between sika , hoka and pakkey by the grammaticalization approach. Furthermore, this paper proposes innovative conclusions related to the NSIs in Japanese and Korean, which the previous studies have never pointed out. Additionally, this study holds that the framework of grammaticzalization can be another good approach which carries out a cross-linguistic study for examining the nature of the NSIs Japanese and Korean. Focusing on some theoretical issues such as dialect contact, synonymic collision, unidirectionality, decategorization, metaphor, specialization, degrammaticalization and frequency, this paper argues that the NSIs in Japanese and Korean show differences in the patterns of grammaticalization processes into NSIs/postpositional particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Trace the development of two English prepositional subordinators of purpose. [•] Demonstrate that the development proceeds in a cycle. [•] Interpret the development using the functionalist and minimalist models of grammaticalization. [•] Argue that the two models of grammaticalization can be reconciled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] In some Sinitic varieties, grammaticalised signs may undergo reduction and fusion. [•] Reduction of signs is favoured by increased frequency of occurrence. [•] Semantic and formal evolution of grammatical items may be largely independent. [•] Claims about language groups should be based also on dialect data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] This study presents a detailed discussion of the diachronic development of Chinese cause-complement pivotal construction (C-PVC). [•] The claim that C-PVC is both semantically and syntactically ambiguous is examined via transformations and a survey of the native speaker judgment. [•] The schematic C-PVC has evolved in two dimensions, i.e., the promotion of the level of schematicity and the increase of the extent of inclusiveness. [•] The development of the schematic C-PVC is characterized by the relaxation of the original restrictive conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This contribution presents a view of language as pervasively substantively based. That is, linguistic categories and structures represent extra-linguistic mental ‘substance’ – conceptions and perceptions – in the sense that the latter determine the range of linguistic categories and their structural behaviour. The distribution of basic categories and the relations between them reflects their substance. Moreover, the dimensions of linguistic structure – notably constituency/dependency and linearity are, like the categories themselves, grammaticalizations of substance – respectively cognitive connectedness and salience and the perception of time. These substantively based dimensions are the basis for sub-modularization within syntax and phonology. Perceived similarities in substance underlie analogies between syntactic and phonological structure, and the lack of them discrepancies in structure. The relative generality of categories and structures throughout languages reflects the cognitive/perceptual salience of what they represent. Language universals, in particular, are substance-based rather than being conventionalized, or autonomous. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Korean has an impressive inventory of sentence-final particles (SFPs) that appear as clusters of verbal morphology. The last slot of the SFP cluster is for sentence type indicators, such as declarative, interrogative, imperative, and hortative. However, a new paradigm of SFPs is emerging in contemporary Korean, those that mark the speaker’s discontent. This interesting phenomenon has not received any attention in earnest to date. The new SFPs of discontent (SFPDs) are -tam, -lam, -kam, and -nam, developed through different paths of grammaticalization, but commonly involving an interrogative marking. One of the sources involves the fusion of a discourse marker originated from an interrogative pronoun. The fusion of a formerly free-standing discourse marker into the verbal morphology is an instance of grammaticalization rarely attested across languages. This paper argues that the emergence of the discontent meaning in SFPDs is directly attributable to the sources, i.e., interrogative words and constructions used in the contexts of challenge. Another noteworthy aspect is that the SFPD paradigm is still defective in that not all sentence-type indicators have the SFPD counterparts, i.e., it excludes true interrogatives and hortatives. This suggests that SFPDs, which should be highly intersubjective due to the defining characteristic of the SFP category in Korean, take the form of highly subjective and non-interactional clause types such as the ‘audience-blind’ styles, and feign non-intersubjectivity. The use of feigned non-intersubjectivity is a discourse strategy for indirectness, which is intricately interlaced with the speaker’s attitudinal stance-marking. The indirectness further expands to counter-expectation, thus bringing forth the mirativity and exclamative functions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper a case of synchronic layering is examined in which Dutch massa (‘mass’) and plural massa’s (‘masses’) are attested with lexical uses as a collective noun, quantifying uses (‘a large quantity of’) and intensifying uses (‘very’) – with plural massa’s only – in some Flemish varieties of Dutch. Against the background of grammaticalization, we will first trace and illustrate the development from lexical head to quantifier and show parallels and differences with similar grammaticalization processes which can be attested with many other collective nouns, both in Dutch (e.g. een hoop ‘a heap’, een boel ‘a bunch’, etc., see Doetjes, 1997; Vos, 1999; Joosten, 2003inter alia) and in other languages (see Brems, 2003, 2007a,b on size noun constructions in English, Doetjes and Rooryck, 2003 on French). Secondly, we will examine the status of intensifying massa’s, as opposed to uses of small size quantifiers as downtoners (e.g. een beetje verdrietig, ‘a little sad’) and argue on a more general level that similar to other languages, but contra Klein (1998), purportedly (non-canonical) expressions of high quantity constitute a fruitful resource for new intensifiers in substandard varieties of Dutch. The quantitative data for this study is mainly taken from the CONDIV corpus and collected from student message boards on the Internet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The –s genitives of English and Swedish play an important role in grammaticalization theory, as they are often used as counterexamples to the main tenet of that theory, viz. that grammatical change is unidirectional. In this paper I look at the emergence of the –s genitive in Danish, hoping that it may shed some new light on the evolution of –s genitives in general, and may provide some evidence for a positive or negative answer to the question whether this evolution is a valid counterexample to the unidirectionality hypothesis. In order to document the history of the Danish s-genitive I analyzed the possessive constructions in various versions of one the oldest Danish texts written in Latin script, the provincial law of Jutland (Jyske Lov), composed in 1241, but copied by hand until well into the 16th c. In these copies the changes in the language can be followed in detail. The main conclusion of this investigation is that –s already had attained its relative autonomy before it was used in group genitives, viz. at the moment when it was glued to the plural forms of nouns, e.g. mæn-s replacing the old genitive manna. How this emancipation of –s is to be interpreted depends obviously on the status of –s as the ending of a certain class of nouns. I argue that the common interpretation of case endings as morphemes should be rejected, they are just the final sounds (Auslaut) of a word. Due to the more than imprecise definition of grammaticalization in terms of movement along a cline, it is not possible to answer the question whether the genesis and evolution of s-genitives are a good example of counterdirectional change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper aims at highlighting the syntactic and semantic variation of the Swedish verb låta ‘let’ from both a synchronic and diachronic point of view. On the basis of corpus data containing Old and Modern Swedish texts from the 13th to the 19th centuries, the syntactic and semantic development of the verb is investigated within the framework of grammaticalization theory. The first part of the paper focuses on the morphosyntactic features of the verb. Considered from a synchronic point of view, the occurrence of låta ‘let’ as a main verb in Contemporary Swedish is limited to a number of more or less fixed expressions, whereas it is much more common as an auxiliary-like verb. However, when considered from a diachronic perspective, it appears that the main verb was much more prevalent a few centuries ago than what it is today. The second part of the paper describes the semantics of the verb. Whereas the semantic profile of the lexical verb låta ‘let’ has become blurred, the auxiliary låta ‘let’ is remarkable in that it covers a scale of meanings ranging from factitive to permissive causation. The study maps the semantic profile of the verb and is concerned with the development of the causative and permissive meanings. The results of the analysis render distinct evidence that the verb has indeed gone through a grammaticalization process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports on a remarkable pattern of re-autonomization, hence, possibly, degrammaticalization, occurring in three core modals in Dutch, viz. kunnen ‘can’, mogen ‘may’ and moeten ‘must’, a process in which the deontic and directive uses of these verbs seem to play a special role. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The article investigates the grammaticalization of the have perfect in Dutch by means of a corpus study of historical legal texts dating from the middle of the thirteenth century until the end of the eighteenth century. The focus of the investigation is on the gradual extension of the have +past participle construction in contexts that were not attested before. The study of the status of the subject, the direct object and the past participle in the corpus shows that the construction is increasingly used in a wider array of contexts. Moreover, the corpus search indicates that meaning components of the have +past participle construction are lost in the process of contextual extension. More specifically, the construction is increasingly used in the background of the discourse in order to expand on events that happened before the time of reference. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Body parts have played an important role in the development of theories describing grammaticalization processes (Heine and Kuteva, 2002, pp. 62–63 and 165–171). Within Uralic linguistics, this particular area of study has not yet received a great deal of attention, although the agglutinative character of most of these languages is known to have resulted in a large number of postpositions that are derived from a nominal basis. This paper will focus on body parts as the basis of grammaticalization processes in Mordvin, and compare these findings with expected development paths. For in a recent study, (Suutari, 2006) it is argued that Finno-Ugric languages in some respects do not follow the standard grammaticalization paths. An important part of this paper will therefore be to see whether the developments in Mordvin are in line with these recent findings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, the patterns of semantic extensions of allative markers are compared with those of ablative markers from a cognitive-typological perspective. Despite the symmetry the two notions appear to exhibit semantically, goal and source exhibit asymmetry and the prevalence of the former over the latter can be seen in a wide range of linguistic and cognitive phenomena. Previous studies indicate that speakers tend to produce goal-oriented events much more frequently than source-oriented events. Goal markers are often associated with an extensive array of functions and usages as well. Building on these findings, the present study investigates how such a prevalence of goal-markers over source-markers may or may not be reflected in their grammaticalization patterns. Do allative markers exhibit more robust patterns of semantic extension across domains compared to ablative counterparts? What are the patterns of semantic extension of the allatives and the ablatives, and how do they differ from each other? The synchronic usage patterns of the allative and ablative markers from 24 languages including English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Polish, and Tamil are examined. The results indicate that goal-markers have generally undergone a more extensive semantic development than source-markers, thus providing more evidence for goal-bias in human cognition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Degrammaticalization has been characterized as a composite change involving gains in morphosyntactic autonomy or phonetic and/or semantic substance. Such a definition is suggestive of a change (or set of changes) which may profitably be explored from a construction grammar perspective. In this article, we consider two cases of degrammaticalization, using ‘morpheme-based’ and ‘construction-based’ parameters. We relate this to wider issues in grammaticalization research, for instance, the differences between accounts of grammaticalization which focus on reduction, and those which focus on expansion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Subjectification, as the diachronic facet of subjectivity, has raised in the last two decades a number of interesting questions in grammaticalization and semantic change theory. In this paper I shall reflect on the nature and construal of subjectification, focusing on the question, formulated by Traugott (2010a, p. 58), “whether it is possible to identify factors of subjectification that are replicable across languages and construction-types, independently of those that might be particular to a construction”. Taking as my point of departure a Traugottian definition of subjectification as a pragmatic–semantic process whereby “meanings become increasingly based in the speaker’s subjective belief state/attitude toward the proposition” (Traugott, 1989, p. 31). I shall consider in more detail the two components of such a definition: “speaker’s subjective belief state/attitude” vs “proposition”. I propose to define instances of subjectification on the basis of a systematic link between the shift to subjective to the shift to the attitudinal, non-propositional component of the semantic structure of an utterance. This results in a narrowing of the definition to “attitudinal” subjectification, vs “lexical” subjectification, as in pejoration or amelioration, and “textual” subjectification, concerning the development of devices coding cohesion, which are both conferred a distinct status, as in Traugott’s (1989) original insights. This narrowing is aimed at limiting the heterogeneity of the phenomena currently brought under the umbrella of subjectification, which makes it hard to identify precise criteria for distinguishing subjective (subjectified) vs non or less subjective (subjectified) expressions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we try to see how insights from morphology and grammaticalisation can be combined. Two approaches to the semantics of inflectional affixes are contrasted. According to one, affixes have no meaning, according to another, affixes have meaning just like lexical items. Given insights from grammaticalisation, a middle way, associated with the No Blur Principle, seems more appealing than either of these extremes. The No Blur Principle is illustrated, and its predictions are shown to be tenable, also in apparent counterexamples from Scandinavian inflection classes. Inflection classes are sometimes assigned on ‘strange’ bases. This is because there are ‘local’ generalisations in inflection class assignment (as in gender, where such generalisations have been called ‘crazy’). Our view of grammaticalisation also supports the idea of a language as a ‘system’ of low-level regularities, even if this picture seems unusual. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzes a case of grammaticalization of sentence-final particles (SFPs) that developed from clausal connectives. These newly emerging SFPs carry a wide range of subjectified and intersubjectified meanings. From the syntagmatic point-of-view, this grammaticalization process was triggered by the ellipsis of the main clause. From the pragmatic point of view, ellipsis of the main clause induces the addressee to reconstruct the missing main clause that is compatible with the explicitly presented connective with which the utterance is ended. The relation between the connective-marked prodosis and the reconstructed main clause came to be conventionalized as the meaning of the utterance-final connective, and the connective now functions as a signal of the end of a sentence. Drawing upon historical data, this paper investigates one such functional change exhibited by -nikka. The function of -nikka is connecting clauses with a causal relationship. As the cohesion between -nikka and its preceding declarative sentence/clause-type marker -ta increased, a new particle -tanikka was created, which came to carry diverse functions, such as marking contingency, contrast, adversativity, protest, reassertion, and emphasis. It is argued that the driving force of this semantic-functional change is context-induced reinterpretation (CIR) and that subjective and intersubjective pragmatic inferences are used to fill the information gap in elliptical structures. It is notable that the development of the declarative-based SFP triggered a parallel development involving the other sentence-type markers, i.e., imperative, interrogative, and hortative markers. The grammaticalization of SFPs occurred very rapidly, resulting in the creation of a complete sub-paradigm of innovative sentential endings, and the later forms grammaticalized despite that they did not attain the high frequency that typically enables a linguistic form to enter a grammaticalization channel. Based on these observations, this paper argues that grammaticalization processes can be paradigm-based and can be triggered by analogy by virtue of structural similarity among the forms involved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Contact between languages often leads to linguistic changes. Although the social factors and the typological characteristics of the languages influence the change process, the interaction between these factors is not well-known. This is partially due to the fact that the long-term and short-term effects of language contact are rarely brought together and compared systematically. In this study, we will outline a model of contact-induced change that combines synchronic usage with diachronic development through employing a usage-based approach. In addition, we argue against the separation of grammar from meaning and claim that the meaning of a form is a natural part of the change process it is involved in. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Integrational theory is a diverse field of research that deals with language and the social act of communication on the premise that “language presupposes communication” and the field conceptualizes communication as embedded in situations of people, time and space and therefore highly dependent on contextual factors. My study concentrates on neologism (i.e. the study of new words) and grammaticalization (i.e. the study of word change). From an integrationist’s framework, words do not obtain meaning outside the situational context. The results can include difficulties on how one can explain conventions, norms and social understanding from one situation to the next. But according to social psychologists, social network processes and procedures act as means for people to create identities and understandings of one another across time and space. The purpose of my study is thus by drawing upon integrationism and social psychology to create new insights to the communicational studies of new words. My study will rely on examples from three diverse qualitative data sets involving youngsters in social networks in and outside the Internet, analyzed according to integrational principles. Through these integrational studies of real communication situation and inspired by social psychology I propose a new way to conceptualize this complex matter of word formation and conventions. I call this new concept “the mirrored word” in order to capture: 1) dynamic sense 2) everchanging situations 3) the process of contextualization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study explores the historical evolution of the English causal adposition thanks to and its Korean counterpart tekpwuney from the prespective of grammaticalization, comparing and contrasting the two adpositions to show the commonalities and differences. These two adpositions show differences in morphosyntactic changes. The grammatical form thanks to has undergone a general evolution whereby a lexical item (i.e. a noun) thank in combination with a preposition to turns into the grammatical item (i.e. a complex preposition) thanks to. Its Korean counterpart tekpwuney, however, has undergone polygrammaticalization: a noun tekpwun ‘favor’ combined with a locative –ey develops into a request mood marker tekpwuney ‘please’ on one hand, and evolves into a causal complex postposition tekpwuney ‘thanks to’ and further into a discourse marker on the other hand. In addition, the postpositional phrase ku tekpwuney ‘thanks to it’ changes into a sentential adverb tekpwuney ‘consequently.’ In contrast to the morphosyntactic changes, thanks to and tekpwuney have undergone similar semantic extensions, which can be explained in terms of the Source Determination Hypothesis (). The fact that the source lexemes of the two adpositions have the same meaning, i.e. ‘favor’ has triggered their similar semantic evolution [favor>cause]. This analysis identifies meaningful universals that shed light on how particular linguistic systems are linked to more universal principles of language development and suggests how meaning change is motivated by cognitive principles independent of specific languages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article explores the process of grammaticalization undergone by complementation constructions with the shell nouns chances and odds , namely (the) chances /(the) odds + BE + clause, where the subordinate clause functions as a complement to the noun (e.g. The chances are that you will never behold the light of another sun / T he odds are that you are out of your reckoning). Structures of this type, which convey the epistemic meaning of probability, develop over time into parenthetical structures (e.g. You never will need it, the chances are. / T he way he always has and, odds are, always will). The grammaticalization of the construction involves a number of morphosyntactic changes, among them the gradual loss of the determiner in the shell NP and the preference for the zero complementizer introducing the subordinate clause, as well as the tendency for the verb BE to occur in its present tense form. This process of grammaticalization culminates with the availability of complement-taking-predicate-clauses (CTP-clauses) with chances and odds in unambiguous parenthetical positions (medially and finally) and as stand-alone units. Both the matrices in the complementation structures and the parentheticals are shown to be non-propositional and to be deployed for pragmatic functions both at the subjective and at the intersubjective level. The study is based on data from American English, as represented in the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). • The CTP-clauses with the nouns chances and odds in the pattern NP PL + BE + complement clause undergo grammaticalization. • The grammaticalization of the CTP-clauses chances are and odds are entails morphosyntactic fixation and decategorialization. • The CTP-clauses chances are and odds are lose discourse prominence and develop subjective and intersubjective functions. • Chances are and odds are become epistemic parentheticals, showing a parallel development in 20th-century American English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to provide an improved understanding of the grammaticalization of parenthetical complement-taking predicates (CTPs). We point out problems in existing accounts (focusing on Boye & Harder 2007 and Brinton 1996, 2008) and propose a synthesis which incorporates the main insights of those accounts, while avoiding the problems. Based on the theory of grammatical vs. lexical status in Boye & Harder (2012), our proposal invokes as a key theoretical innovation a distinction between constructional slots for discursively secondary material, and CTP clauses as fillers of such slots. We argue that this distinction allows us to be precise not only about the status of parentheticals with respect to the grammatical vs. lexical distinction, but also about the status of sentence adverbs. Research on parentheticals and CTP clauses has been focused on constructions where the CTP clauses co-occur with clauses that are sentence-like and propositional. We broaden the scope to include constructions with clauses that are reduced and constructions that designate illocutions or states-of-affairs rather than propositions. We argue that while all CTP are structurally qualified for undergoing grammaticalization, both the syntactic and semantic type of the clauses that co-occur with them restrict grammaticalization in certain ways. While focusing on English, we regard our proposals and hypotheses as potentially applicable also to other languages. Accordingly, we include data also from other languages without however pretending that this is sufficient to actually confirm our hypotheses crosslinguistically. • This paper aims to provide an improved understanding of the grammaticalization of complement-taking predicates (CTPs). • The paper discusses both CTPs co-occurring with sentence-type clauses and CTPs with reduced clauses. • Also, the paper discusses both CTPs with propositional clauses and CTPs with illocution or state-of-affairs designating ones. • It is argued that both the syntactic and the semantic type of the co-occurring clauses restrict grammaticalization of CTPs. • A key theoretical innovation is the distinction between slots for discursively secondary material and fillers of such slots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]